The diagnostic tests use the CRISPR-based SHERLOCK assay to detect low levels of virus in patient samples and generate either a fluorescent readout or a result on a paper strip. used on saliva or urine—eliminating the need for blood draws—and can return results in less than an hour.
The tests also use a rapid chemical and heat treatment called HUDSON to inactive the virus in patient samples. HUDSON makes the patient samples safer for clinical staff to handle in a low-tech environment, and eliminates the need to extract a virus's genetic material from the samples before analyzing.
The team also developed a mobile phone app called HandLens, spearheaded by Andres Colubri, assistant professor in the Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, that can read and immediately report paper strip SHERLOCK results
Reference
Kayla G. Barnes et al. Deployable CRISPR-Cas13a diagnostic tools to detect and report Ebola and Lassa virus cases in real-time, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17994-9