Instant COVID-19 Test Results: Imagine how useful it would have been if COVID-19 in a person could be detected within a few minutes of testing. It would have certainly reduced the immense pressure that the healthcare system across the world is going through. Innovations in the field are of utmost importance to provide a support to the healthcare system. Self-testing kits that can provide the results within a very short span of time is the need of the hour. Now, this has been made possible. Yes, the researchers from the University of Florida and Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University have made it possible to detect COVID-19 within just one second. 

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As per an india.com, report, researchers from the University of Florida and Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, have developed a rapid and sensitive testing method for COVID-19 biomarkers, according to the American Institute of Physics. This sensor system provides detection of COVID-19 within just one second. The system has been described in a study in the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B. Minghan Xian, study author and a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida, was quoted as saying in a press release from the American Institute of Physics that publishes the journal, "This could alleviate slow COVID-19 testing turnaround time issues." 

For the test, a biosensor strip is used that is similar to commercially available glucose test strips in shape. At the tip, there is a small microfluidic channel to introduce the test fluid. “Within the microfluidic channel, a few electrodes are exposed to fluid. One is coated with gold, and Covid-relevant antibodies are attached to the gold surface via a chemical method,” Xian is quoted as saying.

Sensor strips are connected to a circuit board via a connector, and a short electrical test signal is sent between the gold electrode bonded with COVID antibody and another auxiliary electrode during the measurement. Again, this signal is then returned to the circuit board for analysis. It must be noted that the system's sensor strips are discarded after use but the test circuit board is reusable.