• Login
    • Join
  • FOLLOW:
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Opinions
    • Top 30
    • Research
    • Supply Chain
    • Device Sectors
    • Directory
    • Events
    • Resources
    • Microsites
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Top 30
  • Research
  • Supply Chain
  • Device Sectors
  • Directory
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Microsites
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Editorial
    Digital Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Editorial Guidelines
    Reprints
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    Top Features
    Sensing Technology Drives the Future of Medical Care

    New and Developing Diabetes Technologies Offer 'Sweet Relief'

    Discussing Matters of Substance in Medtech Materials

    Medical Device Testers Are Caught Up in a Whirlwind

    6 Ways ERP Systems Help Medical Device Manufacturers Manage Risk and Profitability
    OEM News
    Supplier News
    Service / Press Releases
    Online Exclusives
    Press Releases
    People in the News
    Product & Service Releases
    Supplier News
    Medtech Makers
    Technical Features
    International News
    Videos
    Product & Service Releases
    Live From Shows
    Regulatory
    Financial/Business
    Top News
    MPO's Most-Read Stories This Week—March 18

    Schurter Launches 5121 Filtered Appliance Inlet

    Suzanne Foster Joins Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Board

    Ra Medical Systems Realigns Its Board of Directors

    Study Backs Tandem Diabetes' Control-IQ 'Artificial Pancreas' in Young Kids
    From the Editor
    Blogs
    Guest Opinions
    Top Opinions
    Sensing Technology Drives the Future of Medical Care

    New and Developing Diabetes Technologies Offer 'Sweet Relief'

    Discussing Matters of Substance in Medtech Materials

    Medical Device Testers Are Caught Up in a Whirlwind

    6 Ways ERP Systems Help Medical Device Manufacturers Manage Risk and Profitability
    Top 30 Medical Device Companies
    Market Data
    White Papers
    Top Research
    CR-SOP Neurotechnology Helps to Achieve ‘Sound’ Sleep

    Inside the Hospital Value Analysis Committee

    Face Time: Why Getting Engineers Out of the Lab Is Good for Business

    Common Paratubing Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

    During Times of Uncertainty, Create Business Value with an Optimized Workforce
    3D/Additive Manufacturing
    Contract Manufacturing
    Electronics
    Machining & Laser Processing
    Materials
    Molding
    Packaging & Sterilization
    R&D & Design
    Software & IT
    Testing
    Tubing & Extrusion
    Cardiovascular
    Diagnostics
    Digital Health
    Neurological
    Patient Monitoring
    Surgical
    Orthopedics
    All Companies
    Categories
    Company Capabilities
    Add New Company
    Outsourcing Directory
    LEMO USA Inc.

    NDH Medical Inc.

    Providence Enterprise USA Inc.

    Forefront Medical Technology

    Medbio LLC
    MPO Summit
    Industry Events
    Webinars
    Live From Show Event
    Industry Associations
    Videos
    Career Central
    eBook
    Slideshows
    Top Resources
    3D Printing Medical Devices Revolutionized Manufacturing

    5 Current Trends in Medical Device Security

    How Advanced Sensors Improve Design & Functionality of Respiratory Care Equipment

    Sourcing Silicone Parts: Injection Mold or 3D Print?

    Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Getting on the Right Track
    Companies
    News Releases
    Product Releases
    Press Releases
    Product Spec Sheets
    Service Releases
    Case Studies
    White Papers
    Brochures
    Videos
    Outsourcing Directory
    LEMO USA Inc.

    NDH Medical Inc.

    Providence Enterprise USA Inc.

    Forefront Medical Technology

    Medbio LLC
    • Magazine
      • Current/Back Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Editions
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • News
    • Directory
      • All Companies
      • ALL CATEGORIES
      • Industry Associations
      • Company Capabilities
      • Add Your Company
    • Supply Chain
      • 3D/Additive Manufacturing
      • Contract Manufacturing
      • Electronics
      • Machining & Laser Processing
      • Materials
      • Molding
      • Packaging & Sterilization
      • R&D & Design
      • Software & IT
      • Testing
      • Tubing & Extrusion
    • Device Sectors
      • Cardiovascular
      • Diagnostics
      • Digital Health
      • Neurological
      • Patient Monitoring
      • Surgical
      • Orthopedics
    • Top 30 Company Report
    • Expert Insights
    • Slideshows
    • Videos
    • eBook
    • Resources
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • Whitepapers
    • Research
      • White Papers
      • Case Studies
      • Product Spec Sheets
      • Market Data
    • MPO Summit
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live From Show Events
      • Webinars
    • Microsite
      • Companies
      • Product Releases
      • Product Spec Sheets
      • Services
      • White Papers / Tech Papers
      • Press Releases
      • Videos
      • Literature / Brochures
      • Case Studies
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise with Us
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Breaking News

    CRISPR-Based COVID-19 Test Uses Smartphone Camera

    The rapid, one-step mobile test could help combat the pandemic and fully reopen communities.

    CRISPR-Based COVID-19 Test Uses Smartphone Camera
    A new CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 developed by researchers at Gladstone Institutes, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco essentially converts a smartphone camera into a microscope to provide quick and accurate results. Image courtesy of PR Newswire.
    CRISPR-Based COVID-19 Test Uses Smartphone Camera
    A photo of a device attached to an ordinary smartphone that can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in a nasal swab. Image courtesy of Daniel Fletcher and Melanie Ott.
    PR Newswire12.07.20
    Imagine swabbing your nostrils, putting the swab in a device, and getting a read-out on your phone in 15 to 30 minutes that tells you if you are infected with the COVID-19 virus. This has been the vision for a team of scientists at Gladstone Institutes, University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). And now, they report a scientific breakthrough that brings them closer to making this vision a reality.

    A new CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 developed by researchers at Gladstone Institutes, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco essentially converts a smartphone camera into a microscope to provide quick and accurate results.

    One of the major hurdles to combating the COVID-19 pandemic and fully reopening communities across the country is the availability of mass rapid testing. Knowing who is infected would provide valuable insights about the potential spread and threat of the virus for policymakers and citizens alike.

    Yet, people must often wait several days for their results, or even longer when there is a backlog in processing lab tests. And, the situation is worsened by the fact that most infected people have mild or no symptoms, yet still carry and spread the virus.

    In a new study published in the scientific journal Cell, the team from Gladstone, UC Berkeley, and UCSF has outlined the technology for a CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 that uses a smartphone camera to provide accurate results in under 30 minutes.

    "It has been an urgent task for the scientific community to not only increase testing, but also to provide new testing options," says Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and one of the leaders of the study. "The assay we developed could provide rapid, low-cost testing to help control the spread of COVID-19."

    The technique was designed in collaboration with UC Berkeley bioengineer Daniel Fletcher, PhD, as well as Jennifer Doudna, PhD, who is a senior investigator at Gladstone, a professor at UC Berkeley, president of the Innovative Genomics Institute, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Doudna recently won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for co-discovering CRISPR-Cas genome editing, the technology that underlies this work.

    Not only can their new diagnostic test generate a positive or negative result, it also measures the viral load (or the concentration of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) in a given sample.

    "When coupled with repeated testing, measuring viral load could help determine whether an infection is increasing or decreasing," says Fletcher, who is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. "Monitoring the course of a patient's infection could help health care professionals estimate the stage of infection and predict, in real time, how long is likely needed for recovery."

    A Simpler Test Through Direct Detection
    Current COVID-19 tests use a method called quantitative PCR—the gold standard of testing. However, one of the issues with using this technique to test for SARS-CoV-2 is that it requires DNA. Coronavirus is an RNA virus, which means that to use the PCR approach, the viral RNA must first be converted to DNA. In addition, this technique relies on a two-step chemical reaction, including an amplification step to provide enough of the DNA to make it detectable. So, current tests typically need trained users, specialized reagents, and cumbersome lab equipment, which severely limits where testing can occur and causes delays in receiving results.

    As an alternative to PCR, scientists are developing testing strategies based on the gene-editing technology CRISPR, which excels at specifically identifying genetic material.

    All CRISPR diagnostics to date have required that the viral RNA be converted to DNA and amplified before it can be detected, adding time and complexity. In contrast, the novel approach described in this recent study skips all the conversion and amplification steps, using CRISPR to directly detect the viral RNA.

    "One reason we're excited about CRISPR-based diagnostics is the potential for quick, accurate results at the point of need," says Doudna. "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."

    Parinaz Fozouni, a UCSF graduate student working in Ott's lab at Gladstone, had been working on an RNA detection system for HIV for the past few years. But in January 2020, when it became clear that the coronavirus was becoming a bigger issue globally and that testing was a potential pitfall, she and her colleagues decided to shift their focus to COVID-19.

    "We knew the assay we were developing would be a logical fit to help the crisis by allowing rapid testing with minimal resources," says Fozouni, who is co-first author of the paper, along with Sungmin Son and María Díaz de León Derby from Fletcher's team at UC Berkeley. "Instead of the well-known CRISPR protein called Cas9, which recognizes and cleaves DNA, we used Cas13, which cleaves RNA."

    In the new test, the Cas13 protein is combined with a reporter molecule that becomes fluorescent when cut, and then mixed with a patient sample from a nasal swab. The sample is placed in a device that attaches to a smartphone. If the sample contains RNA from SARS-CoV-2, Cas13 will be activated and will cut the reporter molecule, causing the emission of a fluorescent signal. Then, the smartphone camera, essentially converted into a microscope, can detect the fluorescence and report that a swab tested positive for the virus.

    "What really makes this test unique is that it uses a one-step reaction to directly test the viral RNA, as opposed to the two-step process in traditional PCR tests," says Ott, who is also a professor in the Department of Medicine at UCSF. "The simpler chemistry, paired with the smartphone camera, cuts down detection time and doesn't require complex lab equipment. It also allows the test to yield quantitative measurements rather than simply a positive or negative result."

    The researchers also say that their assay could be adapted to a variety of mobile phones, making the technology easily accessible.

    "We chose to use mobile phones as the basis for our detection device since they have intuitive user interfaces and highly sensitive cameras that we can use to detect fluorescence," explains Fletcher. "Mobile phones are also mass-produced and cost-effective, demonstrating that specialized lab instruments aren't necessary for this assay."

    Accurate and Quick Results to Limit the Pandemic
    When the scientists tested their device using patient samples, they confirmed that it could provide a very fast turnaround time of results for samples with clinically relevant viral loads. In fact, the device accurately detected a set of positive samples in under 5 minutes. For samples with a low viral load, the device required up to 30 minutes to distinguish it from a negative test.

    "Recent models of SARS-CoV-2 suggest that frequent testing with a fast turnaround time is what we need to overcome the current pandemic," says Ott. "We hope that with increased testing, we can avoid lockdowns and protect the most vulnerable populations."

    Not only does the new CRISPR-based test offer a promising option for rapid testing, but by using a smartphone and avoiding the need for bulky lab equipment, it has the potential to become portable and eventually be made available for point-of-care or even at-home use. And, it could also be expanded to diagnose other respiratory viruses beyond SARS-CoV-2.

    In addition, the high sensitivity of smartphone cameras, together with their connectivity, GPS, and data-processing capabilities, have made them attractive tools for diagnosing disease in low-resource regions.

    "We hope to develop our test into a device that could instantly upload results into cloud-based systems while maintaining patient privacy, which would be important for contact tracing and epidemiologic studies," Ott says. "This type of smartphone-based diagnostic test could play a crucial role in controlling the current and future pandemics."
    Related Searches
    • Diagnostics
    Related Knowledge Center
    • Diagnostics
    Suggested For You
    NTK Cutting Tools USA NTK Cutting Tools USA
    JK Medirise-Disposable Medical Device Company JK Medirise-Disposable Medical Device Company
    EnMed MicroAnalytics EnMed MicroAnalytics
    ECA Medical Instruments ECA Medical Instruments
    sfm medical devices GmbH sfm medical devices GmbH
    IMA Automation North America IMA Automation North America
    WESTPAK Inc. WESTPAK Inc.
    BMP Medical - Delivering Custom Plastics Manufactured Solutions BMP Medical - Delivering Custom Plastics Manufactured Solutions
    High Tech Turning Co. Inc. High Tech Turning Co. Inc.
    Breakthrough Device Designation Granted for New Neuromodulation Platform Breakthrough Device Designation Granted for New Neuromodulation Platform
    Hyperfine Names Paykel, Teisseyre to Executive Leadership Roles Hyperfine Names Paykel, Teisseyre to Executive Leadership Roles
    Accu-Tube Appoints Matthew Haddle as CEO Accu-Tube Appoints Matthew Haddle as CEO
    First CellFX Procedure Performed in Canada First CellFX Procedure Performed in Canada
    Turner Imaging Systems Announces International Expansion Turner Imaging Systems Announces International Expansion
    Heraeus Acquires Mo-Sci Corporation, ETS Technology Holdings Heraeus Acquires Mo-Sci Corporation, ETS Technology Holdings

    Related Buyers Guide Companies

    • NTK Cutting Tools USA

      ...
      Melissa Singher, Senior Product Coordinator 11.18.22

    • JK Medirise-Disposable Medical Device Company

      ...
      Ketan Munjani, Marketing Manager 11.17.22

    • Testing

      EnMed MicroAnalytics

      ...
      Victoria Tan, Marketing Assistant 11.17.22


    • ECA Medical Instruments

      ECA Medical Instruments

      ...
      Jim Schultz, VP Customer Solutions 11.16.22

    • sfm medical devices GmbH

      ...
      Albert Busch, Head of Marketing 11.11.22

    Loading, Please Wait..

    Trending
    • A New Approach To Post-Market Surveillance
    • FDA Clears LiveMetric's Wearable Blood Pressure Monitoring Tech
    • Healthcare Changes Prompt Medtronic To Merge Sales Force Medtronic, Inc. Is Combining Its U.S. Ca
    • Philips Names New Supervisory Board Chairman
    • Taiwan Aims To Boost Sales In U.S. Market With New Cost-Saving Medical Devices
    Breaking News
    • MPO's Most-Read Stories This Week—March 18
    • Schurter Launches 5121 Filtered Appliance Inlet
    • Suzanne Foster Joins Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Board
    • Ra Medical Systems Realigns Its Board of Directors
    • Study Backs Tandem Diabetes' Control-IQ 'Artificial Pancreas' in Young Kids
    View Breaking News >
    CURRENT ISSUE

    March 2023

    • Sensing Technology Drives the Future of Medical Care
    • New and Developing Diabetes Technologies Offer 'Sweet Relief'
    • Discussing Matters of Substance in Medtech Materials
    • Medical Device Testers Are Caught Up in a Whirlwind
    • View More >

    Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies.
    You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information”.

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms And Conditions
    • Contact Us

    follow us

    Subscribe
    Nutraceuticals World

    Latest Breaking News From Nutraceuticals World

    'What’s Up With Supps' Event at Expo West Raises Over $8,000 for Vitamin Angels
    IRI and NPD Rebrand as Circana Following Merger
    ABC’s Sustainable Herbs Program Updates Sustainability and Regenerative Practices Toolkit
    Coatings World

    Latest Breaking News From Coatings World

    Miller Paint Partners with Portland Boutique Woonwinkel for 2023 Spring Color Trends
    ALTANA Reports Sales of €3 Billion for First Time in 2022
    Dunn-Edwards Launches New Dead Flat Ceiling Paint
    Medical Product Outsourcing

    Latest Breaking News From Medical Product Outsourcing

    MPO's Most-Read Stories This Week—March 18
    Schurter Launches 5121 Filtered Appliance Inlet
    Suzanne Foster Joins Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Board
    Contract Pharma

    Latest Breaking News From Contract Pharma

    Enzo Biochem Sells Clinical Laboratory to Labcorp
    53Biologics Expands its State-of-the-art Facilities
    Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing Receives Zero Observations from FDA Inspection
    Beauty Packaging

    Latest Breaking News From Beauty Packaging

    Soapbox Launches New Moisturizing Hand Soaps at Walmart Stores
    Revlon Plans to Emerge from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in April 2023
    Dial Unveils New and Improved Body Washes
    Happi

    Latest Breaking News From Happi

    Byoma Enters Suncare with New Moisturizing Gel-Cream SPF 30
    Red Carpet Looks at the Academy Awards and Apollo Buys Univar
    Laneige Launches Hydration Deep Dive Campaign Featuring Actress Sydney Sweeney
    Ink World

    Latest Breaking News From Ink World

    Weekly Recap: Energy Curable Inks, Toyo Ink, Resins Top This Week’s Stories
    ALTANA Achieves Sales of €3 Billion for First Time in 2022
    Ball Corporation Releases Climate Transition Plan
    Label & Narrow Web

    Latest Breaking News From Label & Narrow Web

    UPM Raflatac analyzes supply chain, TLMI hosts Converter Meeting and more
    Education sessions announced for Dscoop Edge St. Louis World Expo
    ALTANA reports record sales in 2022
    Nonwovens Industry

    Latest Breaking News From Nonwovens Industry

    Weekly Recap: TerraCycle Launches Diaper Program, Ahlstrom to Divest or Shutter Stenay Plant & More
    Mativ Names CFO
    Indorama Ventures, Polymateria Partner on Biotransformation Technology
    Orthopedic Design & Technology

    Latest Breaking News From Orthopedic Design & Technology

    ODT's Most-Read Stories This Week—March 18
    Accelus' Remi Robotic Navigation OK'ed for GE OEC 9900 C-Arm
    AAOS News: Annunziato (Ned) Amendola Named Second Vice-President
    Printed Electronics Now

    Latest Breaking News From Printed Electronics Now

    Weekly Recap: LOPEC 2023 Slideshow, Dracula Technologies Top This Week’s Stories
    ALTANA Achieves Sales of €3B for First Time in 2022
    MClimate Releases Maintenance-Free Wireless Thermostat

    Copyright © 2023 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.

    AD BLOCKER DETECTED

    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
    Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.


    FREE SUBSCRIPTION Already a subscriber? Login