Aug. 6, 2021—Qiagen received emergency use authorization from the FDA for its QIAreach SARS CoV-2 Antigen Test.
The test uses Qiagen’s UL-certified eHub, a portable reader with backup battery power that can be operated remotely from main power for up to eight hours. The test has the capacity to analyze nasal and nasopharyngeal swab samples from up to eight symptomatic patients simultaneously. The eStick uses nanoparticle fluorescent detection technology to flag the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. Clinical studies have shown the test to have a sensitivity of at least 80 percent and a specificity of 98 percent.
Results for a negative test are available in 15 minutes and in the case of a strong positive in as few as two minutes. One eHub can process on average about 30 tests per hour.
Lab professionals can run the QIAreach SARS CoV-2 Antigen Test and the QIAreach Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total on an eHub at the same time, with each testing slot operating independently of the others.