(WWJ) You may soon be able to get your COVID-19 test results in under an hour, thanks to new testing developed at Beaumont Hospital.
A team led by Beaumont Health researchers, Laura Lamb, Ph.D. and Michael Chancellor, M.D at the Aikens Research Center at Beaumont Research Institute has developed a new test to detect COVID-19 via urine, blood, salvia or a mouth-swab sample in just 30-45 minutes.
Results were compared to existing tests and found to be highly accurate, according to Beaumont.
Also a big plus: the test is relatively inexpensive to develop and operate.
"The researchers used testing technology that they developed a few years ago for the Zika virus, and we able to adapt the technology for COVID-19," WWJ Health Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites said Wednesday. "Now they're working to get funding to develop the test. Once that's in place it would take about a month to have it available."
Dr. Lamb said we're going to need a lot of testing options if we're going to stage a successful public health response to COVID-19. "This is a rapid test that does not require expensive machinery to run and the materials for it are relatively inexpensive. The more options we have for testing, the better," he said.
Results from the most accurate tests currently available take 24 hours or more to process; similarly, those tests are expensive for some hospitals and clinics.
Lamb said, because it's quick, on the cheaper side and doesn't require a lot of equipment, the test could be used for screening in high-risk areas – such as nursing homes, long-term care facilities, cruise ships, naval ships, within the school and prison systems; and by large employers, such as an Amazon warehouse or meatpacking plant.
"Because this is an existing test, we are optimistic with the right resources, it could be ready for widespread use within a month or so," he added.
The detection test, Lamb explained, builds on recommendations from Dr. Anthony Fauci, immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, that rapid testing and tracing are the keys to containing the coronavirus.
This important study by Lamb and Chancellor recently appeared in the peer-reviewed, leading medical journal PLOS ONE.
More than 10,000 scientists from around the world have already downloaded the Beaumont research team article, according to Beaumont, which said doctors Lamb and Chancellor are sharing their work and collaborating with researchers from Prague to Africa to South America via video conference.
Chancellor said securing corporate sponsorship to fund development is the next phase.
