The outbreak of Covid-19 Pandemic has challenged the entire world. We are living in times of crisis which hasn’t been seen before. There is enormous scale of uncertainty, anxiety and a state of fear all around the world. This superlative contagious virus has claimed countless lives leaving the scientific community and medical professionals baffled on how to contain it.
Great news that the vaccines are getting approved. However, experts continue to vocalise the importance of Covid-19 testing which is critical to contain the pandemic even during the phase of vaccine rollouts.
With the Covid-19 lurking large, Testsealab’s Rapid Test has stepped up in constantly developing antigen rapid tests. A new version of the Testsealabs Antigen Rapid Test is now available on the European market. This was evaluated in a new clinical study and showed top performance in terms of sensitivity and specificity
What is Testsealabs Antigen Rapid Test
The fast and convenient solution for people looking for fast alternative of getting tested for Covid-19. The kit has a 97.6% Sensitivity rate, 98.4% specificity rate and 98.1% accuracy rate.
The Testsealabs antigen rapid test kit is developed as point of care (POC) and is user friendly test with prefilled test tubes. The tests are carried out on site by trained professionals and identify the pathogen of COVID-19 and its antigens right after.
The rapid antigen test is already listed with the new performance data at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) under the number AT082 / 20 and is therefore reimbursable.
BfArM: Antigen tests for direct pathogen detection of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
How to get tested by Testsealabs Antigen Rapid Test
The process involves a nasopharyngeal swab which is taken from the back of nose or throat area and applied to the test cassette. The process works according to the lateral flow principle and shows within 10-15 minutes whether Covid-19 antigens could be detected in the sample or not.
How does Testsealabs Antigen Rapid Test work
The Testsealabs Antigen Rapid Test kit uses lateral flow principle in detecting Sars-Cov-2 virus.
The lateral flow principle is detecting the Sars-Cov-2 virus successfully with lateral flow assays. They are highly selective immunochromatographic assays that work with colloid gold probes (GICA). They are based on specific monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins as a capture reagent. These migrate along a reaction membrane and can thus make antigens visible in sample.
To determine the sensitivity, 125 PCR-positive test persons were examined, 97.6% of which were correctly identified 95% CI: (94.9% -100%). To determine the sensitivity, 250 PCR-negative test persons were examined, 98.4% of which were correctly recognized, 95% Cl: (96.9% -99.9%). The test thus achieves a convincing overall accuracy of 98.1%.
Benefits of Testsealabs Rapid Antigen Test Kit
- The Testsealabs Rapid Antigen Test kit is CE Certified and Refundable test. It is listed at the Federal Institute For Drugs and Medical Devices according to the Coronavirus Test Ordinance (TestV) under Number AT129/20.
- The implementation of Testsealabs Rapid Antigen Test kit is performed by medically trained professionals.
- The process is easy and quick. It takes 10-15 minutes to get results.
- The Testsealabs Rapid Antigen Test kit is Reliable and gives results in high-accuracy.
- The Testsealabs Rapid Antigen Test kitcan be performed as a nasopharynx and oropharynx smear.
- The Testsealabs Rapid Antigen Test kitis developed as Point of Care (POC). No equipment is required, all consumables are present in the kit, making it easy to use and saving time and energy.
Current Overview
Lately, there have been frequent reports of mutations in SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. In particular, variant B1.1.7 from England and variant B.1.351 from South Africa show a potentially increased infectivity. This raises the question of what effect such mutations have on the reliability of rapid tests and whether an infection with the English variant can also be detected.
Both variants are characterized in particular by mutations in the spike protein. The spike protein is a glycoprotein which is located on the surface of the virus particle. It helps the virus to penetrate the cells, but at the same time makes it recognizable for the immune system. This protein is also the target of most vaccines, such as from Moderna or Biontech.
It is therefore important to use a rapid antigen test that is not based on the spike protein. As with the Testsealabs rapid antigen test, the nucleocapsid protein is often used here. This protein lies inside the virus and is bound to its RNA.
According to the current state of science, this variant can also be detected using rapid antigen tests such as the COVID-19 antigen rapid test. However, only general proof of the infection is possible and no statement as to whether a specific virus mutation is present. The detection of certain mutations is therefore much more complicated and depends on laboratory-based methods such as PCR tests or sequencing.
