International scientists say they have developed a faster test for coronavirus.
The University of Oxford researchers have been working on a rapid testing technology to improve capabilities as the virus continues to spread across the world.
They say the new test is much faster and does not need a complicated instrument, with previous tests taking 1.5 to 2 hours to give a result.
The new test is capable of giving results in just half an hour – over three times faster than the current method.
Professor Wei Huang said the beauty of the new test was in the design of the viral detection.
“The test has built-in checks to prevent false positives or negatives and the results have been highly accurate,” he said.
“Additionally, the technology is very sensitive. This means that patients in early stages of infection may be identified sooner, potentially helping to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.”
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He said the results could be read by the naked eye which made it potentially useful in rural area or community healthcare centres.
The technology has been validated with real clinical samples at Shenzhen Luohou People’s Hospital in China.
The hospital has applied the rapid detection kits on 16 clinic samples, including eight positives and eight negatives, which have been confirmed by conventional methods and other clinical evidence.
The results using the rapid detection kits were all successful.
The Oxford scientists are now working to develop an integrated device so that the test can be used at clinics, airports, or even for home use.
They are planning to run clinical validations within the UK and exploring options for production of the test kits.
More than 200,000 cases of the virus have now been confirmed across 156 countries, with the worst outbreaks in China, Italy, Iran, Spain and Germany.