KSL TOP STORY:
Utah DNA company says it developed cutting-edge saliva test for COVID-19
By Jasen Lee, KSL
Published: April 8, 2020
Published: April 8, 2020
(KSL NEWS – DRAPER, UT) — A Utah company says it has developed a test that may allow virtually anyone to find out whether they have the new coronavirus.
Scientists at Spectrum DNA have repurposed technology initially created to help users trace their ancestral lineage through saliva to now be used to detect COVID-19. Until recently, testing for the coronavirus required individuals to undergo invasive and often painful nasal and throat swabbing to gathering biologic material necessary for examination.
“We ran a study side by side, taking the swabs — either nasal swabs or throat swabs — and we looked at those versus looking at the saliva test, and it was 100% accurate in predicting if you had the virus or not,” said Stephen Fanning, CEO of Spectrum Solutions, which is headquartered in Draper.
The company said saliva testing is a new development that, when administered under the direction of a qualified medical professional, will allow for self-administered sample collection by individuals who may be in quarantine or self-isolation or for those showing no outward signs of illness.
“We ran a study side by side, taking the swabs — either nasal swabs or throat swabs — and we looked at those versus looking at the saliva test, and it was 100% accurate in predicting if you had the virus or not,” said Stephen Fanning, CEO of Spectrum Solutions, which is headquartered in Draper.
“This is a significant improvement in a couple of ways. Obviously, putting a very long swab in your nose is not easy (and) it’s rather painful, so with ours, there’s less pain,” he said. “No. 2, to do the swab method, you need to have a professional person stand there to insert the swab into the nasal cavity. Obviously, that potentially puts the professional at risk of getting the virus.”
The new method, which involves using a proprietary preservative solution, eliminates the risk to those handling the samples, Fanning said.
© Spectrum Solutions™ | Photo Credit: Leslie Titus Bryant
(KSL NEWS – DRAPER, UT) — A Utah company says it has developed a test that may allow virtually anyone to find out whether they have the new coronavirus.
Scientists at Spectrum DNA have repurposed technology initially created to help users trace their ancestral lineage through saliva to now be used to detect COVID-19. Until recently, testing for the coronavirus required individuals to undergo invasive and often painful nasal and throat swabbing to gathering biologic material necessary for examination.
“We ran a study side by side, taking the swabs — either nasal swabs or throat swabs — and we looked at those versus looking at the saliva test, and it was 100% accurate in predicting if you had the virus or not,” said Stephen Fanning, CEO of Spectrum Solutions, which is headquartered in Draper.
The company said saliva testing is a new development that, when administered under the direction of a qualified medical professional, will allow for self-administered sample collection by individuals who may be in quarantine or self-isolation or for those showing no outward signs of illness.
“We ran a study side by side, taking the swabs — either nasal swabs or throat swabs — and we looked at those versus looking at the saliva test, and it was 100% accurate in predicting if you had the virus or not,” said Stephen Fanning, CEO of Spectrum Solutions, which is headquartered in Draper.
“This is a significant improvement in a couple of ways. Obviously, putting a very long swab in your nose is not easy (and) it’s rather painful, so with ours, there’s less pain,” he said. “No. 2, to do the swab method, you need to have a professional person stand there to insert the swab into the nasal cavity. Obviously, that potentially puts the professional at risk of getting the virus.”
The new method, which involves using a proprietary preservative solution, eliminates the risk to those handling the samples, Fanning said.
© Spectrum Solutions™ | Photo Credit: Leslie Titus Bryant
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Noninvasive
Saliva Diagnostics
This changes everything!
Health is a dynamic state of well-being. Healthcare providers and researchers have long believed that changes in our saliva record our ongoing state-of-health story. Interestingly, saliva acts as a wide resource of genomic information useful for identifying and monitoring in real-time a disease as well as its state of progression. Saliva analysis looks at the cellular level, the biologically active compounds, making it a true representative of what is clinically relevant.
Spectrum’s technically-superior saliva collection systems have not only been engineered to lead the saliva collection industry in molecular diagnostics and clinical research applications but deliver the safest, most robust biomaterial for the earliest detection and diagnosis of disease and infection.
Noninvasive
Saliva Diagnostics
This changes everything
Health is a dynamic state of well-being. Healthcare providers and researchers have long believed that changes in our saliva record our ongoing state-of-health story. Interestingly, saliva acts as a wide resource of genomic information useful for identifying and monitoring in real-time a disease as well as its state of progression. Saliva analysis looks at the cellular level, the biologically active compounds, making it a true representative of what is clinically relevant.
Spectrum’s technically-superior saliva collection systems have not only been engineered to lead the saliva collection industry in molecular diagnostics and clinical research applications but deliver the safest, most robust biomaterial for the earliest detection and diagnosis of disease and infection.
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