Testing has been promoted as a vital part of limiting the spread of coronavirus but the UK has struggled to test widely so far.
But it has been a struggle to meet those targets.
Figures released by the NHS at the weekend show that 460,437 people had been tested by 9am on 18 April.Engineers at the university have also been working on making a mobile version of the testing kit for use at point of care. Dr Jeroen Nieuwland said:"We have been developing our diagnostic testing platform for the last few years, so we know that it works well for other infections such as urinary tract infections. We have modified this very sensitive and precise technique which is based on proven molecular technology.
"It was designed to be a simple, quick and cost effective test, which is suitable for the diagnosis of a range of infections, so our work over the last few years has enabled us to quickly switch it to detect the underlying virus for COVID-19."The new test is being evaluated in collaboration with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.
Over the past week a number of NHS staff members who reported having symptoms were asked to provide two swabs - one for the accredited Public Health Wales test and one for the new USW test - to confirm the accuracy and performance of the underlying molecular technology.After the initial evaluation the team will be moving on to optimise their test for use at point of care.
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