MGI Australia Demo Lab Opens

BGI Australia is proud to be the supplier for Pathology Queensland’s testing equipment and kits, contributing to safeguarding the people living in Queensland. BGI’s proprietary COVID-19 Testing Solution installed in the Pathology Queensland Infectious Diseases Lab (IDL) in Herston Health Precinct has officially started operation in April by running samples that are collected from across the river city. The “BGI system”, dubbed by the lab staff, surpassed the 10,000-test milestone in less than a month. The integrated system is expected to handle 4,700 tests daily at the maximum capacity, with a 24-hour turnaround time from swab collection at a clinic or hospital, to reported result. 

Dr. Ian Mackay, the IDL’s Senior Molecular Scientist said, “our approach is to establish a diverse portfolio of advanced technologies to best serve Queenslanders. We appreciate how quickly the BGI team respond to our ongoing technical needs and how efficiently the equipment and testing kits were supplied. We are handling approximately 1,100 tests per day as there is no community transmission in the Brisbane region, but the number we process continues to grow and we are well placed to respond should any new clusters occur in Brisbane’s future.” 

With a local team of technical specialists and engineers, BGI Australia offers strong support to the customers across Australia. Dr. Bicheng Yang, Director of BGI Australia, said “This project is very special for us as Brisbane is our home city, where most of the team members are based, and we are located in the same building as IDL. This certainly will benefit response time and service to ensure that everything runs smoothly and sustains the highest quality to deliver reliable results for the tests.”