Cell ID, a Singapore-incorporated medtech company, is selling a palm-sized portable genetic test kit that uses laptop software to detect if a person has COVID-19. Called the Quiz PCR Biochip, the test uses biotechnology to perform testing outside of the laboratory at the rate of two tests at a time.
Positive results can be confirmed as quickly as in five minutes while negative results are returned within an hour. A QR code on the biochip allows healthcare providers to quickly identify and electronically deliver the test results to the person being tested.
“Quiz PCR Biochips are affordable, single-use genetic tests that can detect COVID-19, anywhere at any time,” said the inventor, Xander Sim, CTO and co-founder of Cell ID.
“Currently, we can manufacture 8.5 million biochips in a month, which is 17 million tests.”
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| Source: Cell ID. The Quiz PCR Biochip is a portable genetic test kit for detecting COVID-19. |
The test requires a tiny amount (10 µl) of a nasal swab or saliva specimen to be applied to the biochip, which when plugged into a laptop, runs a real-time RT-LAMP assay for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Two genetic tests are able to run concurrently using the same or different protocols - PCR tests or RT-LAMP assay. The biochips are hot-swappable, meaning that one biochip can be removed and replaced with another without requiring the entire system to shut down first. To operate the test, under two hours of training is required.
“We designed the Quiz PCR Biochip to be free of the cold-chain limitations of conventional tabletop PCR tests found in laboratories,” added Sim.
“The Quiz PCR Biochip is capable of thermocycling for PCR tests, as well as single temperature operation for RT-LAMP assay. Our RT-LAMP assay fully meets the 95% CI accuracy standard.” CI stands for confidence interval, a way of measuring accuracy, while thermocycling refers to the cycles of heating and cooling required as part of the PCR test process.
The effectiveness of the biochips has been tested in Singapore in collaboration with Singapore healthcare agencies at two quarantine facilities (EXPO and a foreign workers' dormitory) between July and October 2020. A third-party laboratory independently validated the test’s efficacy in Switzerland in November 2020.
PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction, while RT-LAMP refers to reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification. RT-LAMP tests are generally cheaper and faster than PCR tests. PCR testing also requires operators to undergo more training.
Sales are subject to regulatory approval.
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