In Italy and not only it takes days to know the result of a swab (also due to a shortage of reagents, the problem is explained here). For this reason, the world has rushed to develop faster tests to detect coronavirus.
Just a week ago the refinements in this field allowed the development of a test that took "only" 45 minutes. Today the time is reduced to 5 minutes with ID NOW.
The US FDA has rushed to allow numerous COVID-19 tests in an attempt to control the pandemic, but one of the latter could represent a major step forward in technology to combat coronavirus.
Abbott received emergency use authorization for a variant of your ID NOW. It's a real mini-lab the size of a toaster. It can deliver results in as little as five minutes and full reports in 13 minutes. Furthermore, it is one of the few tests of its kind that can be used outside of a hospital, such as in a clinic.
How ID NOW works
The key to ID NOW's good functioning is in the use of molecular tests that look for a small section of the SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA and amplify that segment until there is something to detect. Other test methods, as mentioned, can take hours or days to produce feasible results.
Abbott is undergoing an increase in production, the company expects to deliver 50.000 tests per day in the US starting next week.
ID NOW is widespread everywhere
One of the main advantages of the ID NOW platform is its diffusion. ID NOW already has a large presence in molecular testing laboratories and is already "widely available" in doctors' offices and emergency rooms.
For this reason, medical centers could have a more accurate representation of the scale of the pandemic from next week and ensure that the infected receive the right treatment as quickly as possible.
