ID NOW platform from Abbot Labs Illinois is now being pushed by the U.S. FDA as a primary tool for testing COVID-19 cases.
Abbot Labs launches ID NOW platform
With the COVID-19 epidemic hitting the United States like a freight train, health care services are gasping for any means of containing the virus from spreading. One way of doing this is by early testing and separation of those infected and are not.
The scarcity of Personal Protective Equipments has been a problem in several states across the United States. This limits the amount of medical personnel a hospital can send to test possible COVID-19 cases. In addition, testing for patients that are possibly infected by the virus takes up to hours before getting a result. This increases the exposure of non-infected patients to those who are infected.
But with the new equipment developed by Abbot Labs, the ID NOW platform can give out positive results for suspected COVID-19 patients in as fast as five minutes, and secured negative results in thirteen minutes. With this new technology, patients can wait on the spot for the results, determining if they will be subject to isolation or allowed to go home and self medicate existing illnesses, not due to the coronavirus.
COVID-19 testing kits
Earlier last week, the same company Abbott Labs has also developed a COVID-19 testing platform that works on larger batches on specimens but takes a bit more time compared to the ID NOW platform. The former is used on hospitals were possible cases of COVID-19 patients have already been admitted due to similar coronavirus-like symptoms.
Aside from Abbot Labs, there are other companies being authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to release versions of their testing kits in hospitals across the United States. The Cepheid company’s testing kit can provide accurate results in about 45 minutes, while Mesa Biotech, which is also a California-based company comes up with a test kit that can provide results quicker in just 30 minutes.
Earling testing can help health care providers assess the real severity of the contamination within their respective states and issue proper guidelines for those who came up negative, in order to stay away from contamination. As of now, the United States has passed China in the total number of deaths due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Updates on the current situation of Coronavirus cases worldwide can be accessed through this link.
Featured image by Alere
