BERLIN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Bosch has developed an improved fully automated rapid COVID-19 test which delivered "reliable results" in only 39 minutes, the German engineering and technology company announced on Friday.
"One of the keys to fighting the coronavirus pandemic is to rapidly identify sources of infection. That is why we focused on following up on our first coronavirus test with an even faster one," said Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner in a statement.
A first automated COVID-19 test presented by Bosch in March to help medical facilities such as doctors' offices, hospitals, laboratories and healthcare centers make a rapid diagnosis still requires 2.5 hours.
According to Bosch, the new, improved test is currently the fastest polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in the world and is "predestined for decentralized use" such as in mobile test centers at freeway service stations or in airports.
While the old test simultaneously checks samples for the coronavirus and nine other respiratory diseases in two and a half hours, the new accelerated test is exclusively designed to detect the coronavirus.
Besides being the fastest reliable PCR test approved by the European Union with a CE marking, "the test helps avoid time in quarantine, and make travel and work safer again," a Bosch spokesperson told Xinhua.
Bosch stressed that the new test would also be easy to use. Medical staff only need brief training to operate the system. A sample is taken from the patient's nose or throat and then placed in the test cartridge which will be inserted into the device for automated analysis. Enditem
