Reviews |Canon’s medical division creates rapid testing kit for Covid-19 virus

Canon’s medical division creates rapid testing kit for Covid-19 virus

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Canon has announced that its medical division has developed a rapid genetic testing kit for Covid-19, the novel coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic.

While it’s not part of the company’s imaging business and not exactly a story about photography, Canon’s rapid testing kit is no doubt a significant development as countries struggle to test the growing numbers showing symptoms of the virus.

Canon’s medical division previous helped develop rapid test kits for the ebola outbreaks in Africa in 2015 and 2019. According to a statement released by Canon:

The test and the reagents being developed for COVID-19 RNA testing is based on the LAMP method4 developed by Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., and are to be used with a compact isothermal amplified gene fluorescent detector manufactured by Canon Medical to detect the presence of virus. Compared to the conventional test method of real-time PCR, the LAMP method allows for detection of the virus to be performed more easily and quickly, which makes it suitable for testing in local areas where infection is prevalent.

Via Canon Watch