A new rapid and sensitive testing method for COVID-19 detects the virus and provides results faster than you can count to one. This is quicker than most COVID-19 testing methods that are currently available.

The test is developed by researchers from the University of Florida in association with Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, according to the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, which is published by the American Institute of Physics.

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The researchers have developed a sensor system that amplifies the binding signal for a target biomarker to detect the presence of the novel coronavirus.

“Our sensor system, a circuit board, uses a transistor to amplify the electrical signal, which then gets converted into a number on the screen,” stated the journal quoting Minghan Xian, study author and a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida.

“The magnitude of this number depends on the concentration of antigen, the viral protein, present within our test solution,” Xian added.

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Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently approved a self-test kit that is able to render results in 15 minutes. 

Innovations such as these can reduce the burden and save time for already overwhelmed healthcare systems in various countries, including India.