Strategies for Scaling up SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Testing Capacity

Sanchita Das; Karen M Frank

doi:10.1016/j.cll.2022.02.006

Strategies for Scaling up SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Testing Capacity

Clin Lab Med. 2022 Jun;42(2):261-282. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2022.02.006. Epub 2022 Mar 8.

Authors

Sanchita Das¹, Karen M Frank²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: karen.frank@nih.gov.

Abstract

Scaling up SARS-CoV-2 testing during the COVID-19 pandemic was critical to maintaining clinical operations and an open society. Pooled testing and automation were two critical strategies used by laboratories to meet the unprecedented demand. Here, we review these and other cutting-edge strategies that sought to expand SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity while maintaining high individual test performance.

Keywords: Automation; Capacity; Molecular testing; Pooling; RT-PCR, SARS-CoV-2.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19* / diagnosis
Humans
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2*

Grants and funding

Z99 CL999999/ImNIH/Intramural NIH HHS/United States