LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

New Optical Methodology for Detection of COVID-19 Beats RT-PCR in Speed and Sample Size

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 21 Feb 2022
Print article
Image: Researchers working on the project (Photo courtesy of University of Seville)
Image: Researchers working on the project (Photo courtesy of University of Seville)

An optical methodology for the rapid detection of COVID-19 provides an advantage over PCR in terms of the speed of sample processing and the ability to simultaneously analyze a large number of samples.

The new methodology developed by researchers at the University of Seville (Seville, Spain) has obtained a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5% in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal exudate (the same samples used in a PCR test) from symptomatic people. It has also been possible to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in fresh saliva of asymptomatic people, as well as to detect, differentiate and quantify two types of synthetic viruses (lentiviruses and synthetic coronaviruses) in two biofluids (saline solution and artificial saliva).

The new methodology allows for the detection of viruses in liquid droplets and dry residues deposited on surfaces, through hyperspectral imaging and data processing based on advanced statistics and artificial intelligence. It allows rapid processing of multiple samples simultaneously, without contact or reagents and with relatively simple equipment, usable by personnel with minimal training. The new technique uses standard optical equipment and has been developed so that it can be implemented in resource-constrained settings.

However, the researchers have warned that these results should still be viewed with caution, as they constitute a 'proof of concept', with relatively small numbers of cases, under partially controlled laboratory conditions. For this reason, they are currently working on validating this new methodology under generic conditions, including new variants of the virus and the effects of vaccines.

Related Links:
University of Seville 

Gold Member
Universal Transport Solution
Puritan®UniTranz-RT
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Bordetella Pertussis Molecular Assay
Alethia Pertussis
New
Community-Acquired Pneumonia Test
RIDA UNITY CAP Bac

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The UV absorbance spectrometer being used to measure the absorbance spectra of cell culture samples (Photo courtesy of SMART CAMP)

Novel UV and Machine Learning-Aided Method Detects Microbial Contamination in Cell Cultures

Cell therapy holds great potential in treating diseases such as cancers, inflammatory conditions, and chronic degenerative disorders by manipulating or replacing cells to restore function or combat disease.... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.