Taking a cue from China, South Korea, and other countries, during the pandemic’s early stages it became evident that testing and early identification of infected people constituted a key mechanism to help keep the virus in check, and to mitigate the consequences of the new coronavirus infection. However, a potential shortage of equipped PCR laboratories in the country was also evident, since the pandemic’s projected scale and the necessary scope of testing was many times greater than the demand for those laboratories’ services in the absence of such a wide-scale pandemic (in “times of peace”, if you will).
Russian company LLC EMG created a fundamentally new type of laboratory – one that is completely mobile. A new device called LifeCase enabled professionals to conduct full-fledged PCR diagnostics outside the bounds of a PCR laboratory.
Mobile laboratories produced on a large scale by two companies, Joint-Stock Production Association Serov Plant (AO POZiS) and LLC Eidos-Medicine.
As at the beginning of May, 2020 more than two million diagnostic testing kits have already been produced, and more than one million people have been successfully tested. Mass production of LifeCase was launched, with the expectation of more than 1,000 units per month.