The acquisition of two devices will enable a lab in southern Finland to carry out up to 8,000 novel coronavirus test samples per day.
Fimlab, based in Tampere, is awaiting the arrival of two Cobas 8800 System testing machines made by Swiss healthcare company Roche Diagnostics.
The machines are scheduled to arrive to Tampere next month. The firm says that when they do, it will enable a dramatic increase in testing for the whole country, while automating and speeding up the testing process. To date, Fimlab has been testing around 500-600 samples daily.
Ari Miettinen, Fimlab’s CEO, said the devices can process large numbers of samples at the same time.
"Domestic testing capacity will certainly be sufficient, even if sample volumes increase. At the same time, we are preparing to increase sampling capacity," Miettinen said.
Going forward in the fight against the spread of coronavirus, the Finnish government is rolling out a hybrid test, track and isolate strategy - making increased and expedited testing for the illness an important tool.
Testing to expand
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has said it plans to increase the country’s coronavirus testing capacity to 10,000 samples per day.
"But before reaching the target test levels, sampling must also be significantly increased. As testing criteria are relaxed, the number of people to be tested will gradually rise," Miettinen said.
So far, Finnish health authorities have kept coronavirus testing thresholds relatively high and limited the number of tests being carried out, but earlier this month Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru announced plans to significantly broaden testing.
Fimlab's chief physician, Tapio Seiskari, said the company was unable to get the new testing machines more quickly due to high global demand for the devices.
The investment in the devices is valued in the millions of euros, but they can also be used in diagnostic work other than for coronavirus detection.
The physician said that government-ordered restrictions on society, such as social distancing and school closures, have worked well.
"But as the restrictions are lifted and once the autumn flu season begins, it's expected that the number of symptomatic Covid-19 patients will increase, and with it, there will be [an increased] need for testing," Seiskari said.