Canadian bioscience firm says it's approved for production of rapid COVID-19 testing device
Published Sunday, April 12, 2020 10:00PM EDT
TORONTO -- A Canadian bioscience firm has received federal approval for production and distribution of a device it claims can produce COVID-19 test results in less than an hour.
Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience, which developed the Spartan Cube, says it is capable of testing for COVID-19 and has received Health Canada approval for distribution.
"You take a swab and you actually take the tip of the swab into this cartridge and then you put into this portable DNA analyzer," Spartan Bioscience CEO Dr. Paul Lem told CTV News. "In less than an hour, you get your COVID-19 test results."
Alberta is spending $9.5 million to bring 250 Spartan Cubes and 100,000 testing kits to the province, while Ontario has purchased 900,000 testing kits.
“They've told us that they're thinking it'll be used in smaller towns, smaller hospitals, remote communities," Lem said. "So it would probably be health-care professionals, so perhaps doctors, nurses medical technicians who will probably run the stuff."
Under current testing models in Canada, swabs must be sent to centres in large cities for testing, which can lead to delays in results and backlogs at laboratories. Lem believes his device will help solve that problem.
“They have to send the results back to whoever ordered the test, so that's why it can take days or even over a week, to get the test results,” he said. “In contrast, with our portable COVID-19 DNA testing device, you're getting results right away.”
Spartan Bioscience estimates it can produce 1.5 million of these tests each month.
A Canadian bioscience firm has received federal approval for production and distribution of a device it claims can produce COVID-19 test results in less than an hour.
www.ctvnews.ca