Medusa 19 is a company established by the Boohoo founders which has now came up with a non-invasive COVID-19 diagnostic test. According to the company, this test is less intrusive as compared to the typical nasal swab, blood test, or throat swab. Within 10 minutes, it yields the results which are up to 95% accurate.
This non-invasive COVID-19 diagnostic test only requires a saliva sample to identify the presence or absence of coronavirus in it. This test works best with people having no clear symptoms of COVID-19 but suspect being infected.
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Richard Hughes and Mahmud Kamani are the founders of Medusa 19 who happen to be the main shareholders at Boohoo as well.
This test basically identifies the body’s immune response and predicts the infection. Based on this test, the patient should be immediately given the medical care that he needs. In case the test comes positive, the first thing is to isolate the patient so that the viral spread can be controlled.
The chief development officer from the Medusa 19, Christian Stephenson says that this testing can significantly help to control the spread of this pandemic. The earliest clinical evaluation suggests that it can successfully identify any change in the immune response of the body caused by the presence of a virus. It can even diagnose patients which have no typical signs of the infection. And lastly, it is a saliva-based test that saves time, effort, and experience of getting this test done.
If the entire population is tested, managing a pandemic may become easier and hence under control. Imposing and easing the lockdown may also not be necessary if people are diagnosed independently. It can also ensure the re-opening of public spaces without fearing the viral spread.
This test uses saliva through the lateral flow on the device which just runs it along with the machine. The machine then quickly finds the antibodies which are only made when the person is infected with the virus. Once the machine gets a hold on it, it shows the end results.
Note that this non-invasive diagnostic test is only able to identify the antibodies that are specific to the coronavirus. Other pathogens also initiate the body into making antibodies but each pathogen has a unique type of antibodies. That’s why tricking the body into identifying antibodies other than coronavirus antibodies is nearly impossible.
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Andy White who is the Managing Director at Medusa 19 says that his team has tried its best to create this first-ever non-invasive COVID019 diagnostic test which brings results faster than other typical tests. The suspects don’t have to wait to get the test done and receive the reports after hours of the wait which potentially increases the chances of delayed treatment for COVID-19 patients.
Tests like these are high in demand and the rapid-nature of it makes it highly practical and useful to test millions of people living with the constant risk of being exposed to the virus. It is necessary that the company decides about the manufacturing and distribution details of this new test.
