Home COVID-19 testing could be made more affordable thanks to your smartphone

Since the omicron variant came to the United States, there has been a lack of domestic testing. Caught between long lines at specialized clinics and overpriced home tests, many Americans have given up on getting tested to make sure they don’t get sick with COVID-19 understandably. However, a solution to some of those problems may be in the works.

In a newly published Discovered , researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, detailed a system you can start using for around $100 if you already have access to a decent phone modern. What’s more, they say that the initial results show that their process is almost as accurate as the PCR test (and thankfully doesn’t involve stimulating your brain).

In the current iteration, the system involved downloading app for your phone, as well as use hotplates and LED-lit cardboard boxes. When you need to test yourself, you put a saliva sample in a test kit that costs about $7. You then drop a reaction solution that makes it easy for the phone’s rear camera to detect any viral RNA in the sample. The solution turns bright red as it binds to viral material in your saliva. The Bacticount app then conducts a real-time analysis based on how fast the solution turns red.

As you can imagine, there is still a lot of work to be done before you can start using the SmaRT-LAMP test at home. The original study was based on a small sample size involving 50 symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Furthermore, the Bacticount app has so far only been optimized to work with the Samsung Galaxy S9. However, the system shows promise. Dr Michael Mann, lead researcher on the project, said: “Although it was developed primarily to support testing in places where adequate resources are not accessible. Gizmodo that it can be adapted for home use. He also said it could be modified to detect new COVID-19 variants and other pathogens like influenza.