Back in spring, the corona crisis gave the company’s bosses Bernd Bischoff and Volker Scheck the idea for the mobile COVID-19 laboratory. "Corona and the lockdown have shown us all very clearly that, without tests and individual proof of infection, normal life cannot be reasonably resumed," explains Bischoff. “This type of testing offers clarity about the extent of the infection and can prevent hotspots from spreading unnoticed."

The mobile test laboratory can be transported by truck or train to anywhere where a large number of people must be tested for COVID-19. The laboratory meets all technical and medical requirements to carry out smears or PCR tests on up to 500people a day. Thus, for example, pressure on family doctors, hospitals or health authorities is relieved, and medical resources are available for their originally intended tasks. In addition, “MobiLab” is an ideal solution for expanding the spatial capacities of laboratories and hospitals.

Its design allows for people awaiting outdoors for their test turn to orderly progress, one after the other, towards the laboratory door, so that the medical laboratory staff can take the required throat swab. This process can be carried out on both sides of the vehicle at the same time. Thanks to the documents and smears personalized with barcodes, samples obtained can be clearly assigned to tested individuals. Raw data are then evaluated and diagnosed in the integrated PCR laboratory area. PCR test results are thus available within a few hours.

For the first time, this type of mobile testing also allow for self-sufficient testing of larger groups at companies or public authorities on their own premises. Since samples need not be taken to a laboratory first and results are available promptly, lab users can quickly find out who has an acute infection or is free from it. Moreover, given that samples are taken under the same medical, spatial and technical conditions as in a "normal" laboratory, results can be mutually compared. Accordingly, immediate measures can be taken for the infected, whereas healthy test persons can return to their normal everyday life and work, thus preventing stoppages or complete production standstills.

"MobiLab" has been available since mid-August 2020. It can be rented, leased or acquired and offers businesses an incentive to protect their employees and themselves through extensive testing.