Featured photo: An antibody test analyzer at the Sioux Falls laboratory. Submitted.
Sanford Health’s laboratory in Sioux Falls has acquired the equipment needed to process antibody tests, a process the health organization believes will help gather data to better understand COVID-19.
According to a release, internal processes and trial runs are being finalized before the antibody tests roll out across the Sanford network in the coming weeks. Up to 1,200 tests could potentially be completed each day.
“We are committed to staying on the leading edge of patient care, technology and information during this COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Allison Suttle, chief medical officer for Sanford Health.
“Antibody testing is another way for us to learn about this new virus, share information with our colleagues and better understand what this means for individuals and communities.”
Antibody testing is one way to determine who has previously been infected with a disease, and with COVID-19, a number of patients who are infected will never develop symptoms.
Antibodies are produced by the immune system to attack a virus. The new test will not be used to determine if someone is currently ill.
The new frontier of antibody testing may be able to lead to knowledge on whether people can be infected with the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, multiple times.
