By Stephen Nakrosis

Becton, Dickinson and Co. on Wednesday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the company's Veritor At-Home Covid-19 Test, which allows users to use a smartphone to interpret and display results.

The company said users can complete the nasal-swab test in the privacy of their homes and use the camera on their smartphone to "capture, analyze and interpret the results, which eliminates the human subjectivity of a visually read test."

The mobile app from Scanwell Health is available on iOS and Android and provides step-by-step instructions, BD said.

Dave Hickey, president of Life Sciences for BD, said, "New mandates from governments and businesses are specifying the need for periodic testing for those who cannot or chose not to be vaccinated, and this new test may help businesses, governments or schools fulfill those requirements."

The test can be used by people 14 and older, and can also be used on children as young as 2 with samples collected by an adult, the company said.

Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-25-21 1734ET