New smartphone app is able to detect Zika virus in 30 minutes
21-Mar-17, ET Healthworld
Researchers have developed a new smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that costs just USD100 and can detect Zika, dengue and chikungunya within 30 minutes.
%20ET%20Healthworld.jpg "New smartphone app is able to detect Zika virus in 30 minutes (c) ET Healthworld")
Image: ET Healthworld
Testing for these mosquito-borne viruses currently requires a laboratory, and can cost up to USD20,000, and patients have to wait days for results. This makes rapid testing unrealistic for limited-resource clinics in developing countries where the viruses are prevalent.
"We were able to adapt smartphone camera sensors to replace traditional laboratory sample analysis tools," said Aashish Priye from Sandia National Laboratories in the US.