Scientists develop rapid COVID-19 test prototype to diagnose disease using smartphone

Scientists have developed a prototype of a rapid COVID-19 test using a portable instrument for reading the results with a smartphone in 30 minutes. The innovation could enable point-of-care diagnosis without needing to send samples to a lab, according to the study published in the journal PNAS. The new technology could help overcome bottlenecks in supplies and laboratory personnel that have led to long waiting times for results in some areas.

Rashid Bashir, a professor of bioengineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the US, co-led the study with electrical and computer engineering professor Brian Cunningham and mechanical science and engineering professor Bill King. Bashir said that COVID-19 tests could be possible at public events, auditoriums, large gatherings and potentially even at home for self-testing by using such a device.

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Need for alternative testing platforms

According to the study, an important limitation of current assays for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 stems from their reliance on time-consuming, labour-intensive, and laboratory-based protocols. Researchers opined that there is an urgent need for alternative testing platforms that are rapid, accurate, simple, and portable, adding that RT-PCR remains the gold standard for performing clinical diagnostics to amplify the RNA sequences.

“LAMP only needs one temperature – 65 C – so it is much easier to control,” graduate student Anurup Ganguli, the first author of the study, was quoted as saying by the University website.

“Also, LAMP works more robustly than PCR, especially when there are contaminants in the test sample. We can just briefly heat the sample, break open the virus and detect the genetic sequence that specifically identifies SARS-CoV-2,” Ganguli added.

According to the authors, the POC instrument is designed for low cost, accessibility, and the potential for scale-up. The principle of operation is very simple and can be performed with minimal training since the entire assay can be conducted within the cartridge. The instrument was constructed from commercially available components and housing that was easily made on a consumer 3D printer.

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(Image credit: AP)