Lab technicians dissolve several components into water: nutrients, preservatives and other chemicals. Others began working on designs for nasal swabs.īrooke decided to work on viral transport media, which is straight-forward but labor-intensive. Some University of Illinois labs loaned expensive equipment to a local hospital lab to help with on-site testing. (Courtesy of Ann Hyoung Sook/University of Illinois) The problem, Brooke says, is that many of those materials are in short supply as public health and clinical labs around the world simultaneously work to boost their testing capacity.Įarly on in the pandemic, Brooke and his colleagues brainstormed how they could help bolster COVID-19 testing at the local and state level.Īkanksh Shetty produces viral transport media in the University of Illinois' Carl R. If any one of those components is lacking, COVID-19 testing can’t be completed. Once the sample reaches a clinical lab, technicians use anotherliquid to extract genetic material and perform the analysis on high-tech equipment, all while wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment. The swabs are placed into little plastic tubes containing a sterile liquid, known as viral transport media, which preserves the virus’ genetic material until the sample is analyzed. To collect a sample from a patient, health workers use nasal swabs-long, flexible pieces of plastic that reach into the nose and throat. The reality is there are several critical components-and if any are lacking, testing cannot be done. “There’s this idea that you just have these testing kits, and it’s just this thing that’s in a box and you have everything you need to test everyone,” Brooke says. So, what could be so hard?īut once he discussed the issue with clinicians at the local hospital, he says he understood the problem.

The test involves simple procedures labs that his lab performs on a regular basis. University of Illinois virologist Chris Brooke, who has been coordinating some of the efforts to produce testing materials, says when he heard about shortages of COVID-19 tests, he was puzzled. While these partnerships are part of the solution to boosting many states’ testing capacity, some involved in the efforts say that without a coordinated federal response, states will continue to struggle to acquire the supplies needed to meet the growing demand. “I really appreciate the opportunity to have a job amidst this pandemic when a lot of people don’t, and to contribute to helping our public health and medical systems get through it,” says Justin Lange, a research technician working on the project. It’s one of several critical components for COVID-19 testing, and the technicians are producing enough for tens of thousands of tests to be performed weekly at state public health labs. Labs at Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, are providing materials and expertise to their states’ public health labs.Īnd at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, dozens of lab technicians are working to produce viral transport medium. To help fill the gaps, some state public health labs looked to state universities for help. Courtesy of Ann Hyoung Sook/University of IllinoisĪs states move toward reopening their economies, officials are emphasizing the need to expand their capacity to test for COVID-19.īut many say their efforts to ramp up testing are still being hampered by a shortage of supplies. The fluid is used to preserve patient test samples for COVID-19. Laboratory technicians Justin Lange, left, and Akanksh Shetty observe social distancing while creating viral transport media at the University of Illinois.

Project hospital labs