While PCR tests are the most accurate on the market, they must be processed in a laboratory, which takes at least a few hours. When laboratories are swamped by local COVID-19 infection outbreaks, processing can take days.
According to Chinese researchers, they have developed a new COVID-19 testing device that can provide accurate results in four minutes and is as accurate as commonly used PCR tests.
Fudan University researchers collected nasal samples from 33 COVID-19 patients who tested positive for PCR, 23 COVID-19 patients who tested negative for PCR, six influenza-positive patients, and 25 healthy individuals.
According to a peer-reviewed study published Monday in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, the test accurately processed all cases without error in less than four minutes.
The sensor - which analyzes genetic material from swabs using microelectronics - is rapid and accurate at detecting SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, scientists said.
Because PCR tests are more sensitive than antigen tests, they are more precise. Antigen tests require a higher virus concentration than PCR tests in order to produce a positive result. This increases the likelihood of antigen tests returning a false negative result.
Antigen tests look for fragments of virus-infected proteins, whereas polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests look for viral genetic material such as nucleic acids and RNA.
"[The test] may be advantageous in that it enables rapid detection of Sars-CoV-2 nucleic acids, is simple to operate, has a high sensitivity and specificity, and is portable," the team wrote in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Their trial entailed collecting samples from 33 people in Shanghai who were infected with the coronavirus and 54 people who were not.
While some members of the negative group were healthy, others had fevers and tested positive for influenza. Parallel PCR analyses were performed.
The global demand for coronavirus testing kits has increased as a result of an outbreak of COVID-19 caused by the highly infectious Omicron and Delta variants.
China's testing kit manufacturers have been scrambling to keep up with surging demand, both domestically and internationally.
Fudan University researchers stated that their device, if further developed, could be used for testing in airports, clinics, emergency departments, and homes.
China is one of the largest manufacturers of coronavirus test kits in the world. It exported $1.6 billion worth of test kits in December, a 144% increase over the previous month, according to customs data.
