Canada’s Laipac and UAE companies to roll out Covid-19 tests with results in 5-8 minutes

The antigen test uses a nasal sample and AI technology to deliver quick results

A panel indicates the way to a Covid-19 vaccination centre set up at Dubai International Financial Centre. AFP

Laipac Technology, a Canadian Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) company, is partnering with two UAE-based businesses to roll out an artificial intelligence-based Covid-19 test that can give a result from a nasal sample within 5-8 minutes.

The company has teamed up with Abu Dhabi's Yas Pharmaceuticals and Pure Health to deliver a smartphone-based antigen testing system known as Look Spot. It can deliver “real-time test results with 97.4 per cent sensitivity and 98.3 per cent specificity” to quickly detect whether a virus is present. It can also identify new variants that first emerged from the UK and South Africa, Laipac said.

"Look Spot's AI algorithm has high accuracy and can identify the colour signal on tests in low positive cases when human eyes cannot … eliminating the human error and manual process done with other antigen tests available in the market,” Diego Lai, co-founder and chief executive of Laipac, said.

It reduces healthcare responders' “cognitive load by providing accurate test results in an easy-to-read” format, Mr Lai added.

Similar to the Internet of Things, IoMT involves medical devices that can connect wirelessly to share healthcare data with IT systems.

The UAE reported 2,250 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, with 3,684 new recoveries. The total tally of infections now stands at 370,425 and the total number of patients who have recovered is 359,697.

Once their test has been administered, users can download the Look Pass application, available on both Android’s Google Play and Apple’s App Store, to quickly receive results on their smartphone.

Negative test results will generate a Quick Response [QR] code on the app, which can be used as a pass to enter a facility, event, gathering or to board transport facilities.

Through its collaboration with Pure Health, a laboratory consulting and medical supplies company, Look Spot can be integrated with existing IT and travel apps to offer real-time results reporting, Laipac said.