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COVID-19 RAPID RESPONSE: A HANDHELD DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE FOR COVID-19 IN MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING FACILITIES

Objective

Goal Statement: Meat and poultry processing facilities are experiencing widespread COVID-19 transmission in 2020. The CDC suggests that these facilities consider testing workers for their COVID-19 status. OmniVis proposes a handheld smartphone-enabled device for the rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19-causing pathogen) from saliva samples to be distributed for use at meat and poultry processing facilities. Our device uses loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to identify SARS-CoV-2 genes, while our proprietary measurement technique, particle diffusometry, provides sensitive readout methods for pathogen detection. Our device also reports and maps the data, which could help better manage COVID-19 outbreaks. Overall, the major goal of this project is to develop saliva collection and testing methods that can be incorporated into a handheld in vitro diagnostic test for COVID-19.Objectives: Currently, we have not tested patients' saliva samples in our device, and saliva samples may contain low concentrations of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, we will carry out research according to the following two objectives: (1) develop a saliva collection cup for SARS-CoV-2 testing and (2) test whether strand-displacement probes make a SARS-CoV-2 LAMP assay more effective at detecting low sample concentrations.

Investigators
Chavez, R. D.; Clayton, Ka, .
Institution
Omnivis Inc
Start date
2020
End date
2021
Project number
INDW-2020-06041
Accession number
1024206