Bosch has developed a new rapid test for its Vivalytic analysis device to detect the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. The test provides a reliable result in 39 minutes and is currently the fastest polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test worldwide. Bosch’s new rapid test is predestined for decentralized use in mobile test centers at freeway service stations or in airports. Available in Europe, the CE-approved test helps relieve laboratories, and make travel and work safer again.
The test has a sensitivity of 98 percent and a specificity of 100 percent. To develop it, the Bosch subsidiary Bosch Healthcare Solutions joined forces with the German biotechnology company R-Biopharm – a leading provider of highly sensitive manual PCR tests. PCR tests are considered the gold standard of test methods.
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A world-first: simultaneous testing of five samples
Bosch launched the first rapid test for its Vivalytic analysis device at the end of March, after just six weeks’ development. As a multiplex test, it simultaneously checks samples for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and nine other respiratory diseases in two and a half hours and is available in the Middle East. The new, accelerated test is exclusively for SARS-CoV-2.
Vivalytic analysis device: easy to use at the test site
The advantages of Bosch’s rapid test lie not only in speedy analysis but also in ease of use. A sample is taken from the patient’s nose or throat using a swab and placed in the test cartridge. Then the test cartridge, which already contains all the reagents required for the test, is inserted into the Vivalytic device for automated analysis.
The Vivalytic analysis device is designed to be user-friendly; medical staff requires only brief training on how to operate it. The development of the Vivalytic system, which consists of an analysis device and test cartridges, grew out of a long-standing collaboration between Bosch’s corporate research and advance engineering and Bosch Healthcare Solutions.
As demand for the analysis device and the rapid tests remains high, the company is working closely with its suppliers to maximize capacity and further increase supply.
