New test can diagnose COVID-19 within 20 minutes

A new test could see COVID-19 diagnosed within 20 minutes with the help of a smartphone — here’s how it works.

A new test that can diagnose COVID-19 within 20 minutes with the help of a smartphone camera, and detect how contagious a person is, has been developed.

A Monash University researcher is part of the international team of scientists that have developed the rapid test, which uses a new simplified way of searching for the virus’ genetic material in the patient swab.

The aim is for it to be used to screen people on their way into the office or football match, or in the airport departure lounge.

The researchers say the test could also quickly and cheaply be used for future pandemics, as it can be easily reprogrammed to detect any other infectious diseases.

The gold standard for Covid diagnosis is the PSR test. It relies on specific chemicals and technology in the laboratory to trigger a reaction so millions of copies of the virus’ genetic material can be produced - a step called amplification - so the swab can be analysed to a high level of accuracy.

Researchers say the test could also quickly and cheaply be used for future pandemics

Gavin Knott, who leads a laboratory at Monash’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said while their test not as sensitive as PSR, it produced faster result as it removed the amplification step.

This new approach, led by the University of California, relies on repurposing a gene editing technology called CRISPR, most commonly used in cancer treatment.

In this application, they used two CRISPR enzymes in tandem to seek out the genetic material of the Covid virus and create a built-in amplifier to detect disease.

“Biology evolved CRISPR to detect viruses in bacteria. Our approach was to take what biology has already perfected to detect the virus without having to amplify it,” Dr Knott said.

“The beauty of that is it’s much more direct and gives us a much faster result.”

The finding, published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, follows on from the team’s recent research showing that a smart phone camera can interpret the results of a viral test using one CRISPR enzyme.

Dr Knott said while there was more work to be done to improve the sensitivity and simplicity of the test before it could be used in patients, he said the real power of CRISPR-based diagnostics was the ease at which they could be reprogrammed.

“Part of the reason CRISPR got a Nobel prize last year is because this revolutionary technology that can be very easily redirected to target any sequence in the human genome...

be rapidly pivoted to target different viruses,” he said.

“I hope it leads us to be more prepared the next time we encounter a pandemic.”