Feb 09 (Japan Today) - Japanese precision equipment maker Shimadzu Corp started selling on Monday test kits that can detect coronavirus on inanimate surfaces, including doorknobs, faucets and computers, for the first time in the world.
The company said it expects to provide the new kit, which can identify the virus in about 100 minutes, to medical facilities and businesses that provide testing services including to nursing homes and food manufacturers.
Users of the kit wipe the surface of an object using a cotton swab and put it in a container with saline solution. After taking the cotton swab out of the container, test reagents are applied and the virus can then be detected using a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, testing device, according to the company.
Each kit can conduct 100 tests and costs 302,500 yen. The company, based in Kyoto Prefecture, said it aims to sell a thousand test kits annually.
