Currently, PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests are the global standard for COVID-19 testing.
But it seems that the US Food and Drug Administration “FDA” has found a new test, much faster!
On Thursday, it issued an emergency use authorization for what it said was the first device that can detect COVID-19 infection in breath samples, the Associated Press reported Friday.
precision device
She said the “Inspect IR COVID-19 Breathalyzer” is about the size of a piece of carry-on baggage and can be used in doctors’ offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites.
It also added that the test, which can provide results in as little as 3 minutes, should be performed under the supervision of a licensed health care provider.
It also indicated that the device was 91.2% accurate in identifying positive test samples, and 99.3% accurate in identifying negative test samples.
64 thousand samples per month
She indicated that “Inspect IR expects to be able to produce approximately 100 devices per week, each of which can be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day,” noting that “at this level of production, it is expected to increase The testing capacity using the new device is approximately 64,000 samples per month.
The director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Dr. Jeff Shorin, described the device as “another example of the rapid innovation that is happening with diagnostic tests for COVID-19.”
It is noteworthy that since its appearance in December 2019, the Corona virus has infected 503,103,301 people and caused 6,218,384 deaths worldwide.