Establishment of on-site temporary PCR testing methods.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K17302
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 58010:Medical management and medical sociology-related
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: KOYAMA Akihide 新潟大学, 医歯学系, 助教 (90622209)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 定量PCR / 感染症検査 / オンサイト検査 / 新型コロナウイルス / 災害医療

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A system has been developed to enable on-site PCR testing.This enables PCR testing to be carried out on site at the facility and shows that testing is feasible even in the event of a disaster. First, on-site PCR testing was possible: all patients tested negative for antigens prior to PCR testing, but two positive patients were identified by qPCR testing. Next, a study was conducted to determine the testing regime required in the event of a disaster, showing that battery-operated qPCR testing was feasible. Furthermore, a direct PCR test was examined, and it was suggested that a test result equivalent to that of a laboratory could be obtained. Japan is a country where many disasters occur. On-site qPCR testing may be used in the future.

Free Research Field

法医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

必要な現場でPCR検査を行うことには本邦が抱えている問題を解決しうる可能性を秘めている。すなわち、医療体制を維持するために検査と医療を別に行うことが出来ることで、医療現場の負担を軽減できるかもしれない。また、災害が多く起こる本邦において、避難所での検査が感染の拡大防止にも寄与できるかもしれない。今後コロナ禍と同じような感染症が起きうる可能性がある中で、医療体制を維持するための検査法として活躍が期待できる。また、平時においても、さらに小さいコミュニティーにおける集団感染などにも対応が可能であり、検査する人と機材が現場に移動することで検査を行うという新しい検査法の提唱につながることが期待される。