ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, and Senova, a manufacturer of in-vitro diagnostic medical devices based in Germany, has announced that they have successfully opened a production line for lateral flow tests which will be used to detect antibodies from the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. In Weimar, Thuringia, and under strict Covid-19 social distancing, ams and Senova opened the line and congratulated the teams who worked hard to bring the idea to production in less than nine months.
A specifically developed sensor module, based on ams’ AS7341L sensor, allows spectrally resolved sensitive read-out of lateral flow immune assays, and the data will be sent to a medical certified cloud. The device, using lateral flow technology coupled with a spectral sensor, enables a read-out that is accurate, cost effective, quantitative, and provides an objective result which requires no user interpretation. Through using the Senova GreenLight platform, the test kit can be readily applied in doctor’s offices and other point-of-care situations.
Antibody testing remains essential in the fight against the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. It is expected, that people will need several antibody tests when the vaccines are supplied. Before a vaccine is administered, it is important to know the presence of antibodies in the blood. In addition, lateral flow tests for antibodies can be used to check the need for a vaccine and the effectiveness over time. Knowing which portion of the population has antibodies is important to prioritize correctly.
“I am very proud of the achievement ams and Senova have reached together. Moving from concept to volume production in less than nine months shows the quality of our partnership and the capabilities of both companies. Thank you to the teams from ams and Senova who are involved in this exciting innovation,” said Thomas Stockmeier, COO of ams AG. “This technology is important to the population right now. With fast, accurate point-of-care testing available we hope to enable medical personnel to implement vaccinations faster and more exactly.”
“This is the type of co-operation which is designed to make a positive impact. The teams have worked together highly constructively and pushed each other to achieve excellence in a short period of time,” said Hans Soeffing, CEO of Senova. “Drawing on our deep expertise, our Senova team has pushed hard to make the Senova GreenLight available for this solution.”
By providing the market with a device that is highly accurate, disposable and cost-effective, the companies aim to more quickly enable authorities, health providers and other care facilities to realize much needed antibody testing at the point-of-care. With a cost-effective price point and easy connectivity to a smartphone app and the cloud, test data will be transferred over the air to the cloud for evaluation. The result is then communicated back to the smartphone device and, if desired by the user, broad-based test result information can become part of a national or international monitoring systems. Protection of sensitive user data will be ensured by several adequate measures, such as data encryption, technical data security measures and other data protection precautions stipulated in the privacy policies both in the wireless connection as in the cloud.
