SpectraLIT from Virusight Diagnostics uses a unique spectrometer-on-a-chip to detect viruses in blood by analyzing light wavelengths in saliva.

An Israeli one-second Covid-19 diagnostic test is soon to be installed as a pilot project in two European airports.

The SpectraLIT test was developed by the Newsight Imaging of Ness Ziona in collaboration with Sheba Medical Center.

The device is being commercialized through Virusight Diagnostics, the new company formed by Newsight and Sheba’s ARC Innovation Center.

To do the self-service test – shown to be more than 95 percent accurate in trials at Sheba –passengers gargle with a special mouthwash and then spit into a tube.

Based on Newsight’s unique spectrometer-on-a-chip solution, SpectraLIT can detect viruses almost instantaneously by analyzing light wavelengths in the saliva sample.

The device gets smarter over time through its artificial intelligence algorithm, which also enables it to separate the profile of a human infected with a specific virus from a human infected with a different virus or from a healthy human.

“Newsight’s solution will be able to change the future of the tourism industry,” the company explained in a statement.

“SpectraLIT is deployable at every airport as part of the pre-boarding process, [as well as at] museums or amusement parks. It allows for immediate results, leading infected individuals to get medical treatment on time, thus preventing the infection of others and causing a potential secondary outbreak.”

The Covid-19 test will be incorporated into ICTS Sentinel Kiosks, standalone units made by ICTS Europe where passengers can perform tasks such as checking body temperature and scanning travel documents.

Any passenger who tests positive for the coronavirus at an airport kiosk will need to get a standard swab test performed.

“As travel restrictions are gradually lifted, innovation and technology will continue to be central to the industry’s recovery, and so we are proud and extremely pleased to join forces with Virusight to unveil SpectraLIT,” said ICTS President and CEO Oren Sapir.

ICTS signed a letter of intent to roll out SpectraLIT in additional airports where it operates across the world if the pilot is successful and once the device has the necessary regulatory approvals.

Virusight Diagnostics also plans to commercialize additional Covid-19 solutions internationally. Meanwhile, 12 hospitals are waiting to pilot the SpectraLIT device.

Newsight Imaging’s core business is making advanced CMOS Image sensor chips for 3D machine vision and spectral analysis for verticals such as mobile, robotics, Industry 4.0, automotive safety, and surveillance. Hong Kong-based AIinnoBio is developing virus and bacteria detection devices based on Newsight’s technology.

About the Author:

Abigail Klein Leichman is a writer and associate editor at ISRAEL21c. Prior to moving to Israel in 2007, she was a specialty writer and copy editor at a major daily newspaper in New Jersey and has freelanced for a variety of newspapers and periodicals since 1984.