Scaling Up COVID-19 Testing with the Amplitude Solution

COVID-19 testing is a vital link in the process of fighting the current pandemic. Accurate, recent test results enable schools, workplaces, hospitals, and other locations in which large numbers of people regularly congregate to identify people with COVID-19, symptomatic and otherwise, and prevent them from spreading infection more broadly. Accurate and recent test results require high testing volumes and scaling solutions to meet testing demand has proven challenging. Thermo Fisher Scientific instruments currently process over 50% of all COVID-19 tests, and that puts Thermo Fisher Scientific in a powerful position for improving the testing process even further. The Thermo Fisher Scientific Amplitude COVID-19 Testing Solution provides an answer to that challenge.

 

The Amplitude Testing Solution presents an answer to several difficulties facing COVID-19 testing as demand fluctuates. Manual testing systems require increasing numbers of highly trained personnel and put increasing strain on equipment, which may lead to delays and human error. This issue may increase when instruments from multiple vendors must coexist and cooperate in the same workflow. Third-party automation can have long lead times when building for scale and often has a large laboratory footprint, potentially keeping it out of reach for all but the largest laboratories. As a single-source manufacturer of instruments, assays, and reagents, Thermo Fisher Scientific can be a single vendor who serves all of these needs, designing for compatibility throughout the testing process. The Amplitude Solution is an automated high-throughput diagnostic system with the reliability and confidence of secured assay and reagent supply along with 24-7 world-class service and support. Amplitude Solution features complete sample-to-result testing, minimal hands-on time, a small footprint, and minuscule staffing needs. It makes use of the TaqPath COVID-19 real-time PCR assay for superior sensitivity and specificity.

The Benefits of the Amplitude Solution

Amplitude Solution provides several key benefits, which Pezzi elaborates on in the webinar above:

• A secured supply source for consumables and reagents. Amplitude is designed for use with Thermo Fisher Scientific reagents and consumables, including assay kits, solvents, and reporter dyes.
• Helps reduce staffing needs. The Amplitude Solution requires only four full-time operators to process thousands of samples each day. Those operators spend minimal hands-on time interacting with the system, often limited to loading samples, replenishing reagents and analyzing results.
• A proven COVID-19 assay for sensitivity and specificity.
• 24-7 support
• A single source for every step, vertically integrated, all parts are designed for use with one another.

 

Components of the Amplitude Solution

The Amplitude Solution is divided into two modules, comprising different phases of the overall process.

• Module 1 consists of a Tecan Fluent 1080 liquid handler, which takes Viral Transport Medium (VTM) tubes prepared and barcoded by laboratory staff, moves their contents to four 96-deep-well plates loaded with negative controls, beads and binding solution, Proteinase K, and MS2 extraction control, and readies them for Module 2.
• Module 2 is a series of separate devices that, together, perform sample extraction, real-time PCR, and data reporting.

The Amplitude Testing Solution has undergone rigorous quality control testing, involving thousands upon thousands of test samples in various testing phases. This process has established that the Amplitude Testing solution can accurately detect the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2 at various concentrations and in test kits from various sources, making it a flexible solution for all COVID-19 testing needs.

For more information, learn about the Amplitude Solution workflow and components,then watch the on-demand webinar to learn how to scale your COVID-19 testing with our highly-automated molecular diagnostic solution.