Nagasaki University has established a new coronavirus detection technology using the gene amplification method, and has developed a detection system utilizing this technology in collaboration with Canon Medical Systems.This system can determine the presence or absence of infection within 40 minutes, and was approved for use in administrative inspections from March 2020, 3.
According to Nagasaki University, the new system is a mechanism that extracts the virus gene from a sample collected from the mucous membrane of the nose or throat and propagates it until it becomes detectable.Nagasaki University has developed a short DNA strand called "primer" that increases only the gene of the new coronavirus in a short time, and it is visible that the reagent is amplified by the "LAMP method" of the gene amplification technology developed by Eiken Chemical. No light is read by Canon Medical Systems' fluorescence detector.
It is possible to determine the presence or absence of infection within 40 minutes, including the pretreatment time required for detection.Unlike the PCR method, which amplifies DNA by repeating heating and cooling, it is also characterized by increasing genes while maintaining a constant temperature.As a result, the gene amplification efficiency is high, and the testing equipment can be made small.
At a medical institution in Iki City, where the first person infected with the new corona in Nagasaki Prefecture came out, we proceeded with clinical research targeting medical professionals and received high praise for the test results and operability of the device.In response to this, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases recognized it as a rapid test method showing a positive match rate and a negative match rate of 90% or more, and it has become possible to use it for administrative tests at the Institute of Health.Insurance coverage is also available.
