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Irene Bosch could help change the game with her new at-home coronavirus exam. One of the issues that many have been faced with throughout the pandemic is the quickness of testing for the virus — many having to wait long periods of time before getting tested due to the high volume of requests for exams. The Venezuelan biologist and founder of E25Bio is currently working on a possible version of an at-home exam called Point of Care COVID-2. She told El Espectador that this test would be “similar to a home pregnancy test and which can give the result in 15 minutes.” The Central University of Venezuela graduate’s invention would greatly increase speed of testing, but also increase the amount of tests available.
Irene explained, “The sample comes into contact with gold salts and around these salts is a specific antibody that allows the detection of the Covid-19 viral proteins. If it is positive, a red line will be marked on a special paper, almost in the same way that the result of a pregnancy test is revealed.” She also added that, “The mistake made by both the private and public health sectors was to focus on creating treatment rather than early and rapid diagnosis.” The Latina biologist also said that exams like these are beneficial, “because they would allow effective control of the epidemic.”
The Point of Care COVID-2 is still going through the clinical trial stages as the team tests the effectiveness of this mechanism on detecting accurate results of patients who have been exposed to the virus. Once completed, the exam will be mass-produced and sold.