New blood testing system at Mater Dei Hospital could diagnose patients in minutes

An investment of €4.5 million has seen a new system installed at Mater Dei Hospital, which could see patients’ diagnoses take minutes, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference, Fearne said that some 50,000 tests are carried out daily at Mater Dei Hospital.

“With this new system, there is the possibility of 600 tests being carried out per hour, instead of just one. The system started being used earlier in the week,” Fearne said.

The Health Minister noted that the systems are also equipped with artificial intelligence that has a diagnosis feature meaning patients would get quicker results, which would lead to improved treatment.

Fearne also said that the AI systems also know immediately if there is a need for follow-up tests to be ordered. 

“Until now, doctors were only aware of this once the analysis of the test results was done,” he said.

Staff have already been trained, the health minister added.