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Researchers unveil sensor that rapidly detects COVID-19 infection:
[...] Caltech researchers have developed a new type of multiplexed test (a test that combines multiple kinds of data) with a low-cost sensor that may enable the at-home diagnosis of a COVID infection through rapid analysis of small volumes of saliva or blood, without the involvement of a medical professional, in less than 10 minutes.
The research was conducted in the lab of Wei Gao, assistant professor in the Andrew and Peggy Cherng department of medical engineering.
[...] Gao's sensors are made of graphene, a sheet-like form of carbon. A plastic sheet etched with a laser generates a 3-D graphene structure with tiny pores. Those pores create a large amount of surface area on the sensor, which makes it sensitive enough to detect, with high accuracy, compounds that are only present in very small amounts. In this sensor, the graphene structures are coupled with antibodies, immune system molecules that are sensitive to specific proteins, like those on the surface of a COVID virus, for example.
[...] The new version of the sensor, which Gao has named SARS-CoV-2 RapidPlex, contains antibodies and proteins that allow it to detect the presence of the virus itself; antibodies created by the body to fight the virus; and chemical markers of inflammation, which indicate the severity of the COVID-19 infection.
"In as little as a few minutes, we can simultaneously check these levels, so we get a full picture about the infection, including early infection, immunity, and severity."
[...] So far, the device has been tested only in the lab with a small number of blood and saliva samples obtained for medical research purposes from individuals who have tested positive or negative for COVID-19. Though preliminary results indicate that the sensor is highly accurate, a larger-scale test with real-world patients rather than laboratory samples must be performed, Gao cautions, to definitively determine its accuracy.
Journal Reference:
Rebeca M. Torrente-RodrÃguez, Heather Lukas. SARS-CoV-2 RapidPlex: A Graphene-based Multiplexed Telemedicine Platform for Rapid and Low-Cost COVID-19 Diagnosis and Monitoring, Matter (DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2020.09.027) Link
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 04 2020, @02:38PM
Another phys.org clickbait.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 04 2020, @05:43PM
The standard-issue BULLSHIT-DETECTOR generally works good enough for detecting COVID-19 'infections'.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Sunday October 04 2020, @10:03PM
For this to be useful, it would need to be demonstrably almost as good as or better than the swab-based tests. Otherwise, I trust it about as much as I trust the dowsing-based bomb detectors [slate.com].
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Funny) by progo on Monday October 05 2020, @05:23AM
Did someone let Elizabeth Holmes back into the party?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 05 2020, @08:29AM (1 child)
Sure.. sounds much cheaper and efficient than a finnish airport sniffer dog.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 06 2020, @01:53AM
Sure, but I'd still prefer a method that doesn't try to desperately please it's handler. Because everyone knows that as soon as a Good Ol' Boy gets his mits on that poor dog, a month later it'll be signaling on every black man and attractive white girl it sniffs at.
The problem is, is that manufacturing tens of millions of chunks of graphene with that assorted pores made and filled with the right biodegradable organics won't happen for at least a decade. The dogs will be here in a year or so.