Industry Related News: United States – April, 2020:
The ongoing struggle to find solutions for the pandemic issue of COVID-19 is illustrated vividly by the trials and tribulations of the Yale’s Clinical Virology Lab during their development of a proper and regulated test that matched that of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The team, led by director Marie-Louise Landry, MD, encountered numerous challenges and roadblocks during this process. Their experience shows how difficult supply chains and regulatory delays can prove during a crisis while demonstrating the need for precise work, expert testing, and compliant equipment when attempting to develop a test identical to the CDC’s from the ground up. The supply and business roadblocks also showed the value of resourcefulness, determination, and cooperation between multiple teams and campuses.
Landry’s team had to work with a depleted and insufficient supply of reagents and a partial version of the virus RNA to develop the test from scratch, which is a difficult undertaking even with unlimited resources. These circumstances, along with the dense regulation process and painstaking documentation, required absolute perfect calibration of their equipment. During the virus sample application process and FDA approval process, they had to make sure that their equipment performed exactly the way that the CDC’s did, with their thermal cycling machines matching the exact same timing and temperature. Landry said of the process, “If you didn’t have the exact same equipment that public health laboratories use, then you had to prove yours worked precisely the same.” This shows how crucial it is to adhere to proper thermal testing practices when preparing and developing lifesaving medical tests like this.
Since their test was completed and approved, the Yale campus has been producing up to 800 tests per day when they are able to secure proper supplies. Their work is valuable in testing hospital workers and patients while the frustrating supply droughts and manufacturing issues keep alternative test availability low. The state of Connecticut, and furthermore the United States, may be struggling with testing, but continued efforts from teams like the Yale Clinical Virology Lab can ultimately boost the availability of testing throughout the country. Medical breakthroughs are made possible by proper equipment, experienced leadership, and unwavering dedication.
Yale School of Medicine, “Yale’s Veteran Virologist Leads a Team to Close the Coronavirus Testing Gap“ medicine.yale.edu, April 2020, Accessed 24 April 2020.
ABOUT KHOURY INDUSTRIES
Khoury Industries is a worldwide leader in temperature testing equipment for device characterization, thermal cycling equipment, and failure analysis. Khoury Industries designs and manufactures custom thermal testing chambers and microwave thermal testing fixtures used in a variety of industries including: military, space, automotive, medical, research, and communication fields. The Khoury Box and the patented ELI-1000 have quickly become industry favorites as thermal testing devices used to ensure the reliability of industrial and electronic products through prolonged exposure to extreme conditions.
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Penny Aicardi
Khoury Industries
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Bellingham, MA 02019
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