New Covid-19 test makes it possible to test at home quickly and easily

With the rapid growth of the Omicron variant, the need for people to get tested in the safest and fastest way has also increased. Researchers say that with a new system they have developed, people can test with high accuracy without leaving their homes. In addition, it is foreseen that the system will be used in places where there are not enough resources for testing.

Fast and reliable Covid-19 testing

University of California researchers have developed a new system that allows people with a smartphone to test for Covid-19 at home. In order to do the test, some basic laboratory equipment and an application on the phone are sufficient.

The test taker loads the saliva sample into the test kit on a hot plate. In the test, which takes place in a cardboard box with an LED light, saliva drips into a specific reagent solution designed to amplify viral RNA. The solution will turn bright red when pathogen is present in saliva. Later, users will be able to examine the color changes that occur with the rear camera of the phone from the top of the box. The Bacticount application installed on the smartphone will run a real-time analysis based on how fast the solution turns red.

The system can be started to use for 100 dollars. The test, called SmaRT-LAMP, was still at an early stage and was initially tested on a small test group of 50 symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.

The most important of the system’s disadvantages is that the app is currently only compatible with Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphones due to special camera calibrations. Researchers say it will be compatible with more devices in the future.

The researchers point out that the current testing system was primarily developed to help test in places that do not have access to adequate resources, but they want to make it possible for people to test at home quickly and easily.

SmaRT-LAMP can be adapted to detect variants of Covid-19 and other pathogens such as influenza.