SCIENTISTS at the University of Exeter have developed a new device that could allow health professionals to test patients’ antibody response to COVID-19 in as little as seven minutes.
The pioneering new Triple Antibody Test has been produced by the University’s spin-out company Attomarker Ltd.
While traditional tests that require laboratory analysis can take up to 72 hours to get results, the device is able to deliver quick and accurate quantitative results in only seven minutes.
Following successful trials from an initial patient study at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London conducted earlier this year, the test device has received approval by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The Attomarker technology is being developed into a miniaturised hand-held ‘pocket laboratory’ that can be docked to a smartphone – to provide accurate testing at point-of-care, including care homes and pharmacies.
Development of the device was fully funded by University of Exeter alumni and friends, more than 1,300 of whom gave a total of £120,000 through the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal.
Scientists carried out 119 tests over an initial five-day period, investigating the performance of the antibody test on 74 admitted patients from an early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Further analysis with an additional 200 patients shows that Attomarker’s Triple Antibody test delivers a sensitivity of up to 96 per cent in detecting COVID-19 antibodies – including in patients who previously presented negative swab tests.
The results of the trial are published this week in the journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Analyst.
Further study is being done alongside the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.