Washington: Researches have come up with a novel smartphone camera which can diagnose COVID-19 and provide the test result in less than 30 minutes.
According to a PTI report, a research published in the journal Cell stated that the new CRISPR-based COVID-19 diagnostic test, which uses a smartphone camera, can generate a positive or negative result and also measure the concentration of virus in a sample.
Unlike the other CRISPR diagnostics tests that require viral RNA to be converted to DNA and amplified before it can be detected, the new method directly detects the viral RNA, thereby saving time.
“One reason we are excited about CRISPR-based diagnostics is the potential for quick, accurate results at the point of need,” Jennifer Doudna, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes in the US was quoted as saying.
“This is especially helpful in places with limited access to testing, or when frequent, rapid testing is needed. It could eliminate a lot of the bottlenecks we’ve seen with COVID-19,” she added.
The researchers further found that the device can accurately detect a set of positive samples in less than 5 minutes.
However, for samples with a low viral concentration, the device took 30 minutes to differentiate those from a negative test.
Jennifer has been honoured with the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry for co-discovering CRISPR-Cas genome editing, the technology that underlies this work.
