An "ultra-fast" Covid-19 test, developed by miDiagnostics, which provides people with "a very accurate" PCR test result in half an hour has been successfully tested on travellers at Brussels Airport.
The study – in which nearly 600 departing or arriving airport passengers underwent the rapid miDiagnostics test in addition to their regular PCR test – shows that in the real-life setting, the test can provide travellers with a very accurate PCR result in half an hour.
"We are delighted that the pilot study has produced such excellent results. Our Covid-19 PCR Test turns out to be extremely fast and very accurate also in this real-life setting," said Katleen Verleysen, CEO of miDiagnostics.
"In a next step, scheduled for the end of April, we will roll out the test on a large scale," she added.
During this pilot study, the turnaround time of the new method was also tested and optimised in a real-life setting. In the lab, regular PCR tests easily take from three hours (for the rapid procedure) to 12 or even 48 hours.
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The miDiagnostics ultra-fast Covid-19 PCR test, however, provided results in less than 20 minutes, without compromising sensitivity. The whole process, from registration and taking a sample (carried out by Ecolog) to delivering the result to the passengers, was optimised in this study to about half an hour.
"The passengers were relieved to receive their results quickly and so have certainty about their health and travel situation," added Mohammed Zafar, Managing Director EcoCare.
Comparison with the results of the new tests to those of the standard procedure confirmed the accuracy of the miDiagnostics PCR Test. For Zafar, the tests "offer an opportunity to make travel even safer and easier."
The CEO of Brussels Airport Company, Arnaud Feist, stressed that testing has been "crucial" for the re-launch of travel, and added that the pilot study showed that the miDiagnostics test performs well in the airport environment.
"Their innovation in PCR test analysis aligns perfectly with what we consider important as an airport offering testing capabilities: it is fast, scalable and reliable," he said.
