A faster way of testing for coronavirus was implemented at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, which allows for the test results to be retrieved in under 90 minutes, Channel 12 reported.
"It is an advanced and reliable technology that gives hospitals the opportunity to get the result back from a coronavirus test in fewer than 90 minutes," Dr. Hanoh Goldschmidt, head of the Laboratory Department in Ichilov Hospital told Channel 12. He added that part of what makes the results come back faster is that the new method takes care of all the different steps of the test in one place, inhibiting the need for them to be passed along to other departments. "This unit takes each individual sample and passes it via production, processing, and decoding steps," Goldschmidt said.The test is based off American technology, which allows for a small number of tests to do be in a short period of time, in contrast the the common method: a large number of tests, requiring a longer a period of time.
The only downfall to the test, is that it costs four times the amount than the common method, and therefore will only be implemented in particular medical centers, such as emergency rooms, including pediatric emergency centers. Additionally it will be used in testing medical staff that work in treating coronavirus patients.