Vatic, a predictive healthcare company, has been working on a revolutionary COVID testing device that could put all other existing methods to rest.
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KnowNow
The lateral flow device, known as KnowNow, is an antigen test that uses specimens from a saliva sample to detect active and infectious coronaviruses present in the body. The company says that the test is easy to administer, pain-free, and will give you accurate results within 15 minutes. A spokesperson from Vatic said:
KnowNow enables testing to keep people safe, whilst minimising disruption, increasing trust and keeping society and the economy open.
KnowNow is currently being testing in clinical trials in the UK and Europe, however if their findings are successful, it could easily become the number one testing method in the world. It combines the convenience of lateral flow tests as it is easy to do at home and requires a simple saliva swab, it gives results that are allegedly more accurate than PCR tests. Most importantly, it avoids false positive results.
Avoiding false positives
According to Vatic, the test looks for active coronaviruses as opposed to other methods that pick up all sorts of other viral fragments. For example, PCR and lateral flow tests can give false positive results if they detect dead viruses, viral material that has been shedding by previously active viruses, and antibodies. The Knowhow test, however, will only identify viruses that are active and infectious, meaning people will no longer have to isolate themselves if they're no long infected. They stated on their website:
Our patented test uses the COVID-19 virus's binding mechanism as a trigger. Viruses bind to human cells in order to cause an infection; KnowNowᵀᴹ technology mimics a human cell and detects if a virus binds to it. As only a live virus can bind to it, a positive result means that a live virus is present now.
The company has partnered up with Abingdon Health—one of the largest manufacturers of lateral flow tests in Europe, to eventually circulate up to 100 million KnowNow COVID tests every year.
