The Phone Screen Testing (POST) method for corona virus test can help in identifying the outbreak of COVID-19 and all its variants in the coming years.
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To control the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the major strategies is the testing process. Now such facility is being available, people can order testing kit online through e-commerce platform. But there is a new technology that can significantly improve virus detection using samples taken from smartphone screens.
Phone screen testing (POST) is a low-cost and a great way to test corona, which can be a game-changer for low-income countries. Using this method, researchers at University College London (UCL) collected samples from mobile screens and found those who tested positive for COVID-19 using regular nose swab RT-PCR testing. He came out positive even when samples were taken from his mobile screen.
These results, published in the journal eLife, suggested that 81.3-100% of individuals with high-viral load SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal positive samples also tested positive for PoST. Research suggests that this method is effective in identifying COVID-19 infections. The researchers said that limiting the spread of the virus would require continuous monitoring, adding that the POST could help identify the outbreak of COVID-19 and all its variants in the coming years.
What is Phone Screen Testing (POST)?
POST is a non-invasive environmental test which is cheaper than nozzle swab RT-PCT testing. Instead of collecting samples from the throat or nasal passages, samples are collected from the mobile screen using swabs. After collection, they are put in a saline solution and then tested in the same way as conventional swabs are used to test for the presence of the virus.
The researchers were led by Dr Rodrigo Young from University College London and the study was conducted on 540 individuals who were subjected to both POST and PCR testing. “We successfully identified variations associated with SARS-CoV-2 alpha, beta and gamma variants in positive POST samples,” the researchers said in the paper. They concluded, “POST is a new non-invasive, cost-effective and easy to implement smartphone-based smart alternative to SARS-CoV-2 testing.”
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