Bosch develops rapid test for COVID-19

March 26, 2020
Bosch develops rapid test for COVID-19
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As well as its automotive operations, German group Bosch also has an active Healthcare Solutions division and it has achieved a major breakthrough in the fight against the coronavirus. Bosch Healthcare Solutions, together with Randox Laboratories, has developed one of the world’s first fully automated molecular diagnostic tests, capable of delivering COVID-19 test results in under 2.5 hours.  


An ability to rapidly diagnose the virus is of invaluable help in curbing its exponential spread in many countries. Bosch’s new, fully automated rapid test for COVID-19, can help medical facilities such as doctors, hospitals, laboratories, and health centres make a fast diagnoses. The rapid molecular diagnostic test runs on the Vivalytic analysis device from Bosch Healthcare Solutions.

Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH said, “We want the Bosch rapid COVID-19 test to play a part in containing the coronavirus pandemic as quickly as possible. It will speed up the identification and isolation of infected patients.”

Developed in just six weeks, the rapid test can detect a SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection in patients in under two and a half hours, measured from the time the sample is taken, to the time the result arrives. Another advantage of the rapid test, is that it can be performed directly at the point of care. This eliminates the need to transport samples. It also means patients can quickly gain certainty about their state of health, while allowing infected individuals to be identified and isolated immediately.

Bosch’s rapid test is one of the world’s first fully automated molecular diagnostic tests that can be used directly by all medical institutions. It allows a single sample to be tested not just for COVID-19 but also for nine other respiratory diseases, including influenza. “The special feature of the Bosch test is that it offers differential diagnosis, which saves doctors the additional time needed for further tests. It also provides them with a reliable diagnosis quickly so they can then begin suitable treatment faster,” says Marc Meier, president of Bosch Healthcare Solutions GmbH. The newly developed test will be available in Germany starting in April, with other markets in Europe and elsewhere to follow.

In various laboratory tests with SARS-CoV-2, the Bosch test delivered results with an accuracy of over 95%. The rapid test meets the quality standards of the World Health Organization.  A sample is taken from the patient’s nose or throat using a swab. Then the cartridge, which already contains all the reagents required for the test, is inserted into the Vivalytic device for analysis. During the analysis, medical staff can devote themselves to other tasks, for example treating patients. The Vivalytic analyzer is designed to be so user-friendly that even medical personnel who have not been specially trained on it, can reliably perform the test. A Bosch Vivalytic analyzer can perform up to ten tests in the space of 24 hours. This means it takes just 100 devices to evaluate up to 1,000 tests per day. Given the dynamic spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, laboratories are already working beyond capacity. The Bosch Vivalytic will thus help to significantly increase available testing capacities.
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