the happy way
to swab children

Rhinoswab Junior has been designed to deliver all the benefits of the existing Rhinoswab but with several novel features that reduce the fear, anxiety and trauma associated with the use of existing standard of care nasal swabs for children 4-12 years of age.

Find out more

Demonstration only.

Introducing rhinoswab Junior

Demonstration only.

Designed for children

Clinically validated, superior sample collection

Reduces fear and anxiety in children and their parents over testing

Empowers children to take their own sample under adult supervision

Less intrusive, more comfortable & pain free

Child friendly novelty feature adds fun & distraction

Rhinoswab Junior is approved for sale as a Class 1 device in Europe (CE Mark), in the United States with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and in Australia with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Rhinoswab Junior is designed to reduce fear and anxiety in children and their parents. 

The Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll of 1434 parents who care for 2553 children, found a range of barriers which may impact on the willingness of parents to attend a testing clinic for their child. Of these parents, almost three quarters (74 per cent) were concerned the COVID-19 test might be stressful, painful or uncomfortable for their child, with 30 per cent indicating these worries are very likely to stop them from taking their child to have a test. 

Of the children who had been tested for covid, 79% of children had experienced distress associated with covid testing.

Rhinoswab Junior empowers the child to be in control of placing the swab in their nose. The novel design not only makes the entire process easier and more comfortable, it playfully disarms what was a stressful experience and has the potential to make it fun and engaging. We hope that Rhinoswab Junior will reduce testing reluctance and enable more people to be tested more often.

Clinical Trial

Rhinoswab Junior trialed as an alternative to the CTDN swab for children

Rhinoswab Junior is currently being trialed with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia (RCH).

AIM

To investigate Rhinoswab as an alternative method to the combined throat and deep nasal (CTDN) swab for respiratory sample collection in 250 symptomatic children who present to the RCH’s respiratory clinic for viral testing or the emergency department. 

Method

Children will receive a heath care worker administered CTDN swab and a health care supervised, self-collected Rhinoswab on a randomised basis. The samples will be tested by rt-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 and 12 other common respiratory pathogens.

Feedback will also be collected from the children, their parents and nursing staff via a survey to compare the user experience associated with Rhinoswab versus the CTDN swab.

Discussion

Pediatrician and trial lead Dr Shidan Tosif said “Rhinoswab Junior has the potential to turn an unpleasant experience into a more relaxed and possibly even fun experience for children.”

Support for nasal swabbing in children

Nasal Swab as Preferred Clinical Specimen for COVID-19 Testing in Children

The Paediatric Infectious Disease Journal

The first pediatric study demonstrating significantly higher positivity rate of nasal (mid-turbinate) swab testing over oropharyngeal swab testing in detecting SARS-CoV-2.

Method

This prospective study included all children (age 0–18) with COVID-19 who were tested for detection of SARS-CoV-2 on both nasal and oropharyngeal specimens on admission to the Meyer Children’s University Hospital, Italy between March 12 and March 31, 2020.

If initial diagnostic testing resulted positive for COVID-19 and the patient required hospitalization, a simultaneous collection of nasal and oropharyngeal specimen was performed on admission and was repeated every 1–3 days during hospitalization. Paired results were considered in the statistical analysis, to compare the positivity rate of the 2 sampling techniques and to describe changes in the viral load.

Discussion

“Results support the superiority of nasal over oropharyngeal swab collection, determined by a significantly higher positivity rate and a significantly higher mean viral load on nasal samples. In fact, the difference in CT suggests a 100-fold higher viral load in nasal specimens when compared with the oropharyngeal ones. This finding was recorded not only on the first combined analysis of infected inpatients but also on the repeated testing during hospitalization.

Benefits might include lower collection-related hazard for healthcare workers. We recommend it as preferred choice for swab-based SARS-CoV-2 testing in children.”

Palmas, G; Moriondo, M., Trapani, S.,et al., The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal: September 2020 – Volume 39 – Issue 9 – p e267-e270

 Rhinoswab Junior in the media

FAQs

Is Rhinoswab a COVID test?

No. Rhinoswab is not a test.
There are three stages to conducting a covid test; 1) Collect a sample 2) analyse the sample 3) report the results. Rhinoswab provides a comfortable alternative to standard nasopharyngeal swabs for collecting the sample. Once Rhinoswab collects a sample from the nose, the swab is placed in a standard vial containing saline transport media and sent to a lab for testing. The test is conducted within the pathology laboratory using rt-PCR testing equipment.

Can Rhinoswab be used with rt-PCR testing?

Yes. Rhinoswab can be used with rt-PCR testing.
Rhinoswab is designed to be used with standard vials and transport media, fit seamlessly into pathology laboratory workflows and used on existing rt- PCR testing equipment.  

Is nasal swabbing a valid sample collection method?

Yes, nasal swabbing is a valid sample collection method.
Swabbing only the nose is a valid sample collection approach. Scientific literature and guidance provided by the FDA, CDC (Center for Disease Control) and WHO support the efficacy and reliability of nasal swabs that access just the front of the nose rather than the depth of the nasal cavity. 

Does Rhinoswab need to be administered by health care workers?

No Rhinoswab is self administered.
Rhinoswab is designed to be self administered to minimise risk to health care workers. Health care workers may supervise the sample collection process if necessary for those who are under 16 years of age or those who have cognitive or other challenges, but they will not be required to handle the swabs. 

Why is nasal swabbing safer for Health Care Workers?

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health SARS – Co-V2 (COVID-19) Fact Sheet states: “Collection of nasal swab specimens is less technically complex, so can reduce the risk of the spread of infection to healthcare providers, by (1) reducing the duration of the procedure, and (2) allowing the patient to perform self-collection while under supervision.”

What are the benefits of self collection of nasal samples?

Self collection of nasal swab samples are safer for Health Care Workers who can supervise patients performing self collection from a distance rather than the HCW performing the collection.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health SARS – Co-V2 (COVID-19) Fact Sheet recognizes that self collection of nasal samples “… also lessens PPE utilization, given that the patient can perform self-collection under supervision (versus the health care provider performing the collection).”

Is Rhinoswab registered with health regulators?

Yes. Rhinoswab is registered as a 510K exempt medical device in the US and as a Class 1 medical device with the TGA in Australia. We are currently awaiting CE Mark registration for Europe.

Who can use Rhinoswab?

Rhinoswab is registered for use by anyone over the age of 16 years.

Is Rhinoswab comfortable?

Yes. A usability study showed that 77.1% of participants found the swab to be very comfortable or comfortable and a further 20.8% found it to be neither comfortable nor uncomfortable.

Is Rhinoswab painful?

No. A usability study showed that 97.9% of participants (47 out of 48 participants who took part in the trial) reported that they experienced no pain at all when using the swab.

How does Rhinoswab compare to other swabs in terms of efficacy?

In a spiking study undertaken by the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Rhinoswab was shown to be 100% a for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 and equal to the current standard of care at both low and high viral loads.

Is Rhinoswab compatible with all rt-PCR test equipment?

Rhinoswab has been tested by the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (the Doherty) one of Australia’s preeminent covid-19 research and testing facilities.
Trials of Rhinoswab will continue to take place with diagnostic companies and laboratories and we welcome the opportunity to trial Rhinoswab on any rt-PCR testing equipment. Please contact Peter Jordan, SVP Business Development, at [email protected] to arrange a trial.

Will Rhinoswab work with our diagnostic equipment?

If you would like to trial Rhinoswab to determine how well it performs on your equipment or in your laboratory, please contact Peter Jordan, SVP Business Development, at [email protected] to arrange a trial.

REquest a sample

Rhinoswab Junior is FDA, TGA and CE registered and available for trial or purchase. 

If you would like to trial Rhinoswab, please complete this form to request samples.

Or contact us to discuss how Rhinoswab may help deliver a better sampling solution for your needs.

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