Israel Today has learned that sophisticated laboratory equipment has recently come into use that allows the virus to be decomposed in less than an hour • On a regular test, the result is obtained only after three hours. However, the test will not replace existing tests and is intended primarily for urgent use.
The Fastest Corona Tests in Israel : In the past week and a half, laboratory equipment has been used to decode corona samples in a record 45 minutes. This compares to about three to four hours normally.
This is how the "check and run" method works // Photo: Shmuel Buchris
This is four times more than the existing tests. The technology already exists in more than 40 hospitals, including the geriatric centers that are Samuel and the doctor, where it assists in the rapid diagnosis of elderly people arriving or returning to nursing homes.
Rapid decoding of tests, along with conducting a large number of tests and combining epidemiological investigations, are considered as one of the important measures in the closure strategy. The new tests do not replace the existing mass tests but are mainly used for urgent cases, such as maternity exams that come to maternity ward, to know whether they are carried or not, as well as examinations for elderly people who come from geriatric institutions to hospitalization or return from institutions or tests to medical personnel.
The test is called cepheid GeneXpert. This is a review that was approved in a quick procedure about a month ago by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is based on existing laboratory equipment and systems in Israel. This is a kit that corresponds to the equipment available in the laboratories and through which the tests are decoded. You can perform 16 tests simultaneously on the device.
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After approving the use of the US test kit, the US administration imposed restrictions on its exports, but the Israeli company Madison managed to import it into the country through Sweden.
Professor Mitch Schwaber of the National Center for Infection Prevention at the Ministry of Health noted: "At this stage of the epidemic, the rapid diagnostic ability of as many people as possible is critical. This ability has a huge impact on the ability of medical teams, in acute care, geriatric, psychiatric and community settings. Also, rapid diagnosis of infectious agents in the general population is critical to our ability to isolate the infectious agents and reach their contacts in real time, which changes the rules of the game. "
Meir Jacobson, CEO and founder of Madison: "The US CEPHEID test received just one month ago from the FDA, and naturally the demand for it is huge in the US and abroad. The test is accurate and high quality and is defined by the Health and Safety Ministry as changing the rules of the game" "I am pleased that we were able to ensure regular delivery of the test. Our systems have been deployed for years in hospitals in the country, so the use of tests is immediately implemented nationwide."
