Scientists have developed a CRISPR-based coronavirus testing that can yield accurate results in as fast as five minutes using a smartphone camera.
According to Gladstone Institutes senior investigator Jennifer Doudna, the new diagnostic test can generate either a positive or negative result as well as measure the concentration of virus or the viral load in a sample.
New CRISPR-based Covid-19 test yields results in as fast as 5 minutes
While the current CRISPR diagnostics still need to convert viral RNA to DNA and amplified it before proceeding with the test, the new approach is faster and directly uses CRISPR to detect the viral RNA without the need for conversion and amplification.
Doudna also said that one of the reasons they are excited about the CRISPR-based diagnostic is its ability to provide fast and accurate results. "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," Doudna noted.
Doudna was recently awarded with 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering CRISPR-Cas genome editing. Her recent study uses the same technology as published in the journal Cell.
In the new test, researchers combined the Cas13 protein with a reporter molecule, which becomes fluorescent after cutting. The combination is then mixed with a patient's nasal swab sample.
The researchers will then put the sample on a device attached to a smartphone while the phone's camera is converted into a microscope. It will detect the fluorescence and then provide a report on whether a swab has tested positive for coronavirus.
If the swab sample contains SARS-CoV-2's RNA, Cas13 will be activated and cut the reporter molecule. This will cause the emission of a fluorescent signal. During the initial test of the device, scientists have confirmed that it could really yield results very fast for patients' samples with clinically significant loads of the virus. Researchers were able to get accurate results from a set of positive samples in less than five minutes.
However, for low viral load samples, the device could take up to 30 minutes to differentiate it from a negative test.
Meanwhile, researchers also claim that assay could be used in various mobile phones, which can make the CRISPR technology highly accessible.
Read also: CRISPR-Based Genome Editing Can Damage or Delete an Entire Chromosome in Embryos, Study Warns
Artificial Intelligence used to detect Covid-19 with X-Ray images
Northwestern University researchers developed a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered radiology tool called DeepCOVID-XR. They claim the tool can spot COVID-19 using chest x-ray images.
Researchers tested the tool on 300 test images from Lake Forest Hospital and it only took the system about 18 minutes to produce results.
However, the study's senior author Aggelos Katsaggelos said this tool will not replace the actual COVID testing, but since "X-rays are routine, safe and inexpensive," it would be great help in providing diagnostics and determine if patients need to be isolated.
This would reduce the risk of spreading the virus within the emergency department of a hospital, particularly with medical frontliners like physicians and health workers.
Related article: New Chest X-ray Tool Uses AI to Detect COVID-19 with 83% Accuracy
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Written by CJ Robles
