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Israeli Scientists Conducting COVID-19 Trial that Offers Result in 1 Second

The test examines an individual's saliva.
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August 17, 2020
Israeli medical worker holds a swab test for coronavirus at a drive-through site during a presntation for the press before opening on March 20, 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Israeli scientists at Sheba Medical Center are conducting a trial run of a COVID-19 test that delivers results in 1 second.

The Times of Israel (TOI) reported the test involves patients rinsing with a specific type of mouthwash and then spitting into a tube, which is then put into a machine called SpectraLIT. TOI described SpectraLIT as “a USB-powered machine the size of an ashtray.” The machine uses a light on the sample to determine if the patient is COVID-19 positive.

Sheba is currently 50% through its trial of 400 patients; thus far, the test has resulted in 95% accuracy, TOI reported. The current form of COVID-19 testing, known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing that involves a nasal swab, has an 80% accuracy rate.

Sheba Center for Geographic Medicine Professor Eli Schwartz, who is leading the trial, touted the test as a means to save lives if it catches an asymptomatic individual who needs to quarantine himself or herself.

“This system is very rapid, cheap, and is looking reliable,” he told TOI. “It’s suitable for mass screening, as well as airport screening, screening at nursing homes, and even screening at home.”

Eli Assoolin, CEO of Newsight Imaging, which worked with Sheba in developing the test, told TOI that the test could ameliorate a shortage in current PCR test kits.

“We hope that by the end of this year, the system will be commercially available to everyone, and before then we hope it will be used in large pilots, including in airports,” Assoolin said.

However, Amos Panet, a professor of virology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told Reuters that the levels of COVID-19 found in a patient’s saliva tend to increase as a patient’s condition worsens. Therefore, it could be difficult for the test to catch those who are asymptomatic, he warned.

“It will be a game changer only if we see validation of this technology against the current technology,” Panet said.

Israel had 2,071 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Aug. 17 as well as seven deaths from the virus, bringing the country’s respective totals to 92,680 and 685. Israel COVID-19 Commissioner Ronni Gamzu is going to recommend that the country be locked down during the High Holy Days, according to The Jerusalem Post.

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