The Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for a new method of testing coronavirus using T cells in the body – which could help to better diagnose long-distance COVIDs.
The T-Detect COVID-19 test – developed by Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. in collaboration with Microsoft – it is advertised as a “next generation” screening method that analyzes T cell DNA in blood samples instead of the current test methods that screen for immune proteins.
“The T-Detect COVID test will be a useful tool to help determine whether a person already had COVID-19,” the FDA announced on Friday. “This is especially important for people who may have exhibited symptoms previously or believe they have been exposed, but have not been tested positive.”
The company’s medical director told Bloomberg, prior to FDA approval, that the $ 150 test can help people who think they have been infected but have not been diagnosed – especially so-called “long haulers” who have had symptoms that persist for weeks or months.
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“Some of these people have never been diagnosed,” Adaptive’s Lance Baldo told Bloomberg in January. “Sometimes your doctors are wondering and – frankly, that’s where things get ugly – sometimes your insurers are wondering.”
The blood test extracts the DNA from the T cells and uses machine learning software developed in partnership with Microsoft to determine whether the person was previously infected with the virus.
“We are looking for that impression, as a crime scene investigation,” explained Dr. William Li, a prescribing doctor for T-Detect, to ABC News on Tuesday.
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“So many people have had the disease, they have recovered, they have never had a clear diagnosis, but they are suffering from these bizarre and persistent symptoms. The T-cell test has been really helpful in this long tail of COVID to help patients establish where they are.”
Baldo told ABC News that T cells function as front-line “infantrymen” of the immune system.
How long your response remains in the body is still unclear, but research in the UK suggests up to six months – potentially more than antibodies, Bloomberg reported.
This article was originally published on NYPost.com.