The technology combines accuracy levels approaching that of PCR testing, the current gold standard for virus screening, with the speed of self-administered, at-home rapid antigen tests, they said in an article published Tuesday by the journal Nano Letters.
The approach could be used for mass testing at airports, schools, hospitals and other large-scale settings, according to the researchers.
Unlike PCR testing, the new sensor, which is not yet available, requires no sample preparation and minimal operator expertise, the researchers said.
“The technique is as simple as putting a drop of saliva on our device and getting a negative or a positive result,” researcher Ishan Barman said in a press release.
“The sensor could eventually be used in wearable devices,” said Barman, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
PCR tests are accurate but require complicated sample preparation, with results taking hours or even days to process in a laboratory, according to the researchers.
Rapid tests are less accurate at detecting early infections and asymptomatic cases and can lead to erroneous results in some cases, previous studies suggest.
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