Scientists and researchers have been steadily gathering data and insights into the long-term effects of COVID. Studies explain why people lose their sense of smell and what contributes to it’s permanent loss or slow return. Even more serious, new studies suggest COVID can lead to cognitive decline, lung scarring, damaged reproductive organs, increased depression and more.

From the perspective of disease management, two main categories of examinations are usually considered, namely screening and diagnostic tests. Screening exams are intended to detect early disease or asymptomatic carriers, i.e., to identify individuals who have the target disease, but which may not have any sign or symptom of it. In a viral infection scenario, the goal of screening tests is the identifcation of infected individuals to avoid that they may propagate the disease, and they are usually given to asymptomatic individuals or to those without known exposure to the pathogen.

A team of doctors and researchers from the University of Valparaíso and the Quilpué Hospital began this week an unprecedented clinical study at the national level to validate the sensitivity and specificity of a new and innovative diagnostic test designed to confirm a contagion of covid-19 in just 20 seconds.

Fully Developed Groundbreaking Technology - Virolens Has Arrived

The system does not require a trained biologist to determine the results. It takes around 20 seconds to get a yes/no result. An internal validation study by i-Abra found that the Virolens system has accuracy of 97.3% sensitivity and 99.7% for specificity.

Virolens - Combining Holographic Microscopy with Artificial Intelligence

Another product is the Virolens system by British startup iAbra. Based on AI and microscopic holographic imaging, the COVID-19 testing device was said to deliver results within 20 seconds.

New rapid COVID testing machines that promise a result in 20 seconds will soon arrive in Australia following their approval for use in the UK.

The new devices could take the wait out of the coronavirus screening process, but is subject to approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The Virolens machine takes a saliva swab, then uses a holographic microscope to identify viral surface proteins.

Britain has approved a rapid coronavirus test that gives a result in just 20 seconds, it was revealed today. UK start-up iAbra said the Virolens test was given approval by the country's medical regulator after it was trialled at Heathrow Airport. The company hopes to roll it out more widely in the coming months as the UK comes out of lockdown, specifically at airports, sports venues and work places.

Released in September, the Virolens system uses a portable machine which creates a microscopic holographic image to detect the virus in saliva samples in 20 seconds. Developed by British companies iAbra and TT Electronics, it uses a digital camera attached to a microscope, which then runs data through a computer that can identify the virus from other cells. The device has been trialled at Heathrow Airport, whose chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, has urged the government to fast-track the technology to be used across the UK.

Two British companies are preparing to launch a simple COVID-19 saliva screening test that aims to provide an accurate result within 20 seconds—following its first uses at London’s Heathrow airport, one of the busiest in the world. The Virolens device, developed by iAbra, uses a digital microscope and artificial intelligence-powered software to visually search a mouth swab sample for signs of the novel coronavirus.