BOCA RATON, Fla. — Researchers at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton are finding easier ways to test for COVID-19.
The different technology is being shared with medical communities across the country.
Professor Massimo Caputi said the technology behind testing for COVID-19 is changing.
FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine has found a way simpler way to test for COVID in saliva, making it quicker for labs to get results
"What was taking us five hours ended up taking three hours, which almost cut in half the original amount of time," Caputi said.
Instead of having a stick shoved up your nose to get tested for COVID-19, all you’ll have to do is spit into a vial, Caputi said.
"That is what all the companies should start doing," Caputi said.
Caputi added the vials have chemicals mixed in that can help keep samples longer. He also said doing this is safer for the lab techs.
"The good thing about this type of test is it neutralized saliva," Caputi said.
Several clinics and hospitals are now using this testing option and Caputi said they tried to make it easily adaptable for smaller laboratories to start doing
"You don't need anything complex. You don't need a complex chain of supply to work for this. There are small labs anywhere else in the world to do this," Caputi said.
Researches and Caputi said the next project they are working on is a test that uses saliva that can give back results in less than an hour.