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    Canon Medical to Commence Development of a Rapid Genetic Testing System for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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    canonmedical - Canon Medical to Commence Development of a Rapid Genetic Testing System for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

    MELVILLE, NY, March 19, 2020 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced that Canon Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Medical) announced the start of development of a rapid genetic testing system for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), reaffirming Canon Medical's commitment to the basic research and development of rapid diagnostic test kits. This project is part of a research program focusing on the development of diagnostic methods for COVID-19 led by the Japan Agency for Medical Research1.

    Canon Medical was selected to participate in this research program in cooperation with Nagasaki University. This was in recognition of Canon Medical's strength in leveraging its technologies in delivering practical solutions to support medical emergencies, notably by supplying Ebola rapid test kits to the Republic of Guinea in 20152, donating Ebola rapid test kits to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019, and through the manufacturing approval and sale of the Genelyzer KIT (a reagent kit for Zika virus RNA testing) in 20183.

    The test and the reagents being developed for COVID-19 RNA testing is based on the LAMP method4 developed by Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., and are to be used with a compact isothermal amplified gene fluorescent detector manufactured by Canon Medical to detect the presence of virus. Compared to the conventional test method of real-time PCR, the LAMP method allows for detection of the virus to be performed more easily and quickly, which makes it suitable for testing in local areas where infection is prevalent.

    For more information, please visit www.usa.canon.com

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    19 comments

    4. Please dedicate all your resources to helping with the pandemic. Meanwhile I might just setup an indoor macro studio. Need all the help with time management while sheltering in place.
    7. My guess is the people who are developing a camera are different than the people developing this.
      That goes without saying. However if the business in whole is going to run at a limited capacity due to staff staying at home and minimizing asymptomatic contact issues, please by all means, shut down the imaging sections and focus on the health depts. We can wait.
    8. That goes without saying. However if the business in whole is going to run at a limited capacity due to staff staying at home and minimizing asymptomatic contact issues, please by all means, shut down the imaging sections and focus on the health depts. We can wait.
      Anyway, Canon CEO members aren't stupid! They know that the next few months would be the worst time to launch officially a new model that's likely going to be a game changer for Canon's camera division. The whole world will fall into a recession in the next 2-3 months. Canon might delay the whole thing (R5 and R6), especially if key worldwide sport events are cancelled, including the Olympics.
    11. time to de-rate the rumors of R5 (and R6) to zero chance...
      Canon produces more than cameras. They sell more printers than cameras. 99% of the worlds OLEDs on smartphones are produced on Canon equipment. Research has no affect on camera production.
    12. My guess is the people who are developing a camera are different than the people developing this.
      Shurely they are but if the test method involves spectral analysis you have light sensors, CPUs, firmware, storage, communication in the test readout devices which are very similar to a digital camera. Testing hard- and software + creating manuals are similar so maybe there is more compatibility on a second glance.
    13. Just reading that Fujifilm’s Favipiraviris anti-viral has shown some potential benefit in Covid 19 patients in China. Diversification has been great for the camera industry and now it seems like it might be good for society as well. Well done Canon and Fujifilm.
    14. Canon medical was “Toshiba medical” before acquired by canon in 2016. Since toshiba was in financial crisis around 2016, many divisions and subsidiaries were bought by various companies. I guess they all did pretty good job though!
    15. Just reading that Fujifilm’s Favipiraviris anti-viral has shown some potential benefit in Covid 19 patients in China. Diversification has been great for the camera industry and now it seems like it might be good for society as well. Well done Canon and Fujifilm.
      I hope that China shares more data. They are not restricted by as much red tape as other countries, and have tried many possible vaccines or drugs to mitigate the affects. Its very valuable information.
    18. This is the least expected post on this website. I'd rather expect an 8K camera from canon haha. Wait. The 8K is actually real... :D
      Canon is so diversified. It's unreal. Most don't know that 98% of the worlds smartphone OLEDs are produced with Canon equipment. Canon medical equipment is in most medical centers everywhere on the globe.
    19. Canon Medical is a completely different division, has nothing to do with the imaging division.

      Canon at a high level has just 4 operating units:
      • Office which includes laser printers, including large presses.
      • Imaging which includes cameras and inkjet printers, image scanners, and the ever important calculators.
      • Medical with x-ray, ultrasound, ophthalmic, and MRI equipment.
      • Finally, there is Industry and Others which includes a wide array of Semiconductor equipment, cinema, surveillance cameras, and industrial cameras, micro motors and document scanners.

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