HIV: diagnosis by phone

The spread of the human immunodeficiency virus is a serious problem, especially in developing countries, where there is a shortage of qualified medical personnel, as well as equipment for complex diagnostic procedures. Scientists from Brigham Women's Hospital have developed an affordable mobile technology that allows you to diagnose HIV and track the development of the disease without using complex and expensive techniques.

Modern HIV diagnostic methods are expensive to use and require access to a laboratory equipped to conduct polymerase chain reaction studies. The new technique uses only a mobile phone, on which a special application, a microchip and a small additional device printed on a 3D printer must be installed. The total cost of materials used for the production of a microchip and an additional device, as well as reagents required for one test, is less than $ 5.

One drop of blood is enough for testing, and the result can be found out in an hour. The researchers also assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the method: the specificity was 99.1%, and the sensitivity was 94.6% with a threshold level of clinical significance of 1000 viral particles per milliliter.

The researchers report that they intend to adapt this technique to easily and quickly detect other viruses and bacteria.

Article by Draz et al. DNA engineered micromotors powered by metal nanoparticles for motion based cellphone diagnostics is published in Nature Communications.

Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on the materials of Brigham and Women's Hospital: Cellphone Technology Developed to Detect HIV.