Fujifilm (TSE:4901) today announced that it received CE mark approval for its antigen test kit to detect COVID-19.
The rapid diagnostic test detects SARS-CoV-2 infection. It uses the company’s silver application immunochromatography method that is based on silver amplification technology used in the photo developing process.
Fujifilm said that the antigen test is highly sensitive with the silver amplification immunochromatography method and can rapidly detect the presence of COVID-19 at an early stage and in a view of a relatively low viral load.
“During the pandemic, Fujifilm supported the global healthcare community in the complex management of the emergency,” Masaharu Fukumoto, senior VP of Fujifilms medical systems division, said in a news release. “It did so through its diagnostic and IT/AI solutions so that COVID-19 patients could be treated with the utmost care and precision. Today we can provide further support for the early detection of COVID-19, through a rapid antigen test that can provide a highly sensitive result for early detection. We used our proprietary silver amplification immunochromatographic method, that amplifies signal particles more than 100 times and increases the sensitivity, and has the potential to enhance detection in more asymptomatic patients carrying the COVID-19 virus an at an early stage.”
The test uses nasopharyngeal swab samples and provides results within 10-13 minutes. It can be used in a community or clinical setting.