Canada Has Approved A Portable COVID-19 Testing Device That Gives Results in 90 Minutes

With cases back on the rise across the country, Canada's COVID-19 testing capacity is more important than ever. It may have just received a helpful boost, though. The government has approved a new device that can deliver results in less than two hours.

The bCUBE, developed by U.K. biotechnology company Hyris and distributed by Songbird Life Science in Guelph, Ontario, is a portable and compact machine that can be used anywhere. It can also provide test results in 90 minutes.

A September 25 news release from Songbird states that the bCube uses "PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technology that has demonstrated a 95%+ accuracy rate in clinical trials."

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The machine was already approved for surface testing but was given the go-ahead for human testing by Health Canada on September 23.

The bCUBE can be controlled by any device with an internet connection and analyzes its test samples through a cloud-based platform, which allows it to deliver results quickly.

The device can also use any sort of sample, including oral and nasal swabs, as well as saliva.

"Saliva-based testing, however, is provincially regulated," a Songbird spokesperson told Narcity in an email. "We are working with public health authorities to get non-invasive, easy, sampling methods rolled out."

The company is working with government officials to determine how this technology can be distributed in remote communities and areas where rapid testing is especially urgent.

"This is key to keeping the economy running and people safe, despite the ongoing pandemic," Deleo de Leonardis, co-founder of Songbird Life Science said in a statement. "Test results in minutes is a game changer."

The approval for this rapid testing technology arrives at the same time as Ontario introducing pharmacy testing in the province.

Air Canada had partnered with Spartan Bioscience earlier this summer to explore rapid testing before flights.

However, the company's device, which is similar to the bCUBE, has only been given authorization for research use by Health Canada.