A rapid multi-parameter POCT platform to combat Covid-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks

新冠肺炎疫情突显了社会对传染病传播的脆弱性。新的病毒和细菌株可以在没有现有疫苗和疗法保护的社区中迅速传播。新的疫苗和治疗方法可能需要数年时间才能开发出来，因此在疫情最关键的早期阶段无法起到帮助作用。另一方面，诊断测试可以相对较快地发展起来。如果正确实施，它们在控制疫情和防止进一步传播方面可以令人难以置信地有效。然而，这种测试通常需要训练有素的人员和专门的设备和设施来运行。患者要么需要前往检测机构，要么需要将样本运送到这样的机构。周转时间的增加既推迟了是否隔离患者的决定，也推迟了对可能接触过病毒的最近接触者的追踪。它还有可能在患者或样本运输过程中进一步传播感染。快速、简单的血液检测确实存在，但往往表现不佳。在非临床环境中使用时，较高的假阳性和假阴性率阻碍了有效的决策。我们的项目旨在开发一种易于使用的诊断设备，使未经培训的人员能够快速执行此类测试，从而有效地实施疫情控制。它将能够根据情况的要求运行几种类型的测试。将开发一种检测方法，用于在早期阶段对感染进行高度敏感和特异的检测。将开发另一种检测方法，用于快速筛查中晚期感染，并确定患者以前是否接触过病毒，随后是否康复。这对于那些可能在没有症状的情况下传播疾病的无症状携带者以及识别获得免疫力的个人将特别有用。此外，一旦疫苗被开发出来，这个平台将能够确认疫苗接种状态。这样的设备可以部署在许多关键情况下，以有效地控制疫情。例如，机场和中转枢纽、教育机构、社区护理中心、流动筛查车辆等。我们相信，这种工具将被证明在遏制传染病传播方面非常有效，并有助于减轻社会距离和企业关闭等遏制措施的社会负担。除了新冠肺炎大流行外，该平台还可以随时进行调整，以应对未来爆发的病毒和细菌感染。

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable society is to the spread of infectious disease. Novel viral and bacterial strains can quickly spread through communities unprotected by existing vaccines and therapeutics. New vaccines and therapeutics can take years to develop and hence cannot help during the most critical, early stages of an outbreak. On the other hand, diagnostic tests can be developed relatively quickly. Implemented correctly, they can be incredibly effective at containing an outbreak and preventing further transmission.However, such tests generally require trained personnel and specialised equipment and facilities to be run. The patient either needs to travel to a testing facility or have a sample transported to such a facility. The increased turnaround time delays both the decision making of whether to isolate the patient, and the tracing of recent contacts who may have been exposed. It also risks further spread of infection during the patient or sample transit. Rapid, simple blood tests do exist, but they tend to perform poorly. High rates of false positives and false negatives prevent effective decision making when used in non-clinical settings.Our project aims to develop an easy-to-use diagnostic device to allow such tests to be performed quickly by untrained personnel such that effective outbreak control can be implemented efficiently. It will be capable of running several types of test depending on the requirements of the situation. One test will be developed for highly sensitive and specific detection of infection in the early stage. Another test will be developed for rapid screening of mid-late stage infection and to determine if a patient has been previously exposed to the virus and subsequently recovered. This will be particularly useful for asymptomatic carriers who may have passed on the disease despite having no symptoms and also to identify individuals who have acquired immunity. In addition, once a vaccine has been developed, this platform will be able to confirm vaccination status.Such a device could be deployed in many key situations for effective outbreak control. E.g. airports and transit hubs, educational establishments, community care centres, mobile screening vehicles, etc.We believe such a tool will prove highly effective at combating the spread of infectious disease and help alleviate the societal burden of containment measures such as social-distancing and business closures. As well as the Covid-19 pandemic, this platform can be readily adapted to combat future outbreaks of both viral and bacterial infections.