NGT Solutions proposes mobile lab services to help Malaysian govt ramp up Covid-19 screening
KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 ― A Malaysian company known for its expertise in telecommunications, IT and security solutions wants to help the government ramp up Covid-19 screening in the country.
NGT Solutions (M) Sdn Bhd, together with its partner in Indonesia, designed purpose-built mobile laboratories that are already successfully used in Indonesia’s rural as well as urban areas.
With the current Covid-19 screening capacity limited by the number of static laboratories, Group CEO of NGT Solutions Datuk JL Solomon said their mobile laboratories (MoLAB) can further boost any government effort to combat the pandemic.
The MoLAB sits on a vehicle chassis which can easily be deployed to rural or community centres to help with Covid-19 screenings.
Screening samples are normally sent to static laboratories and hospitals for confirmation and this can take time, said Solomon.
“What the MoLAB provides is ease of access to Covid-19 screening and testing. It is able to deploy in rural villages or community centres, if a Covid-19 cluster breaks out in the respective localities.
“Rather than calling for people to be present at local clinics or hospitals and possibly increasing the risk of spreading the virus, the screening can be done on the spot. This is really the approach of taking it to the people rather than waiting for them to come to you,” he said, adding that such measures can help with Covid-19 contact tracing.
“The MoLAB is fully equipped to conduct the gold standard of Covid-19 testing which is the RT-PCR. In addition, antigen rapid tests (RTK-Ag) and antibody tests will also be offered with results issued within two hours, rather than waiting for several days due to the limited capacities of static laboratories,” said Solomon.
The MoLAB can test up to 350 people in an eight-hour operation and can be manned by up to six personnel including a virologist to certify the testing results.
The MoLab can further complement existing static lab infrastructure in every state as this will give them the ability to quickly reach any location at which new clusters or groups may emerge.
Deployment sites can include stadiums, points of entry and areas of large gatherings, said Solomon.
Properly certified as a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory or BSL-2 to carry out infectious disease testing, currently some 100 MoLABs are already deployed in Indonesia, with more expected to be utilised, as part of the government’s effort to contain the pandemic there, said Solomon.
The vehicle can be repurposed in future with MoLAB’s onboard equipment giving it the ability to test, detect and work on infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV and tuberculosis, among others. The lab can also help with diabetes, arthritis and cancer screening.
The MoLAB vehicle will also be fitted with GPS monitoring and mobile data to transmit data in real time including pairing with localised Covid-19 apps such as MySejahtera.
NGTS will also offer a managed service model together with a leasing and financing package.
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