New equipment has been deployed at Galway University Hospital to speed up the processing of Covid-19 test results.
The high-throughput molecular PCR machine can process 500 swabs a day, with results available in around three hours.
Until now laboratory staff were using separate machines and had capacity to carry out a maximum of 300 tests each day. Tests results took in the region of ten hours to complete with the older equipment.
As well as reducing testing times, smaller batches of samples can also be catered for with the new technology.
The equipment has been provided as part of a national clinical pathology programme, with four other hospitals also due to receive the machines in the coming weeks.
