Scientists develop a type of HIV test on a USB stick

Scientists in the UK have developed a new type of HIV test device using a USB stick that can give a fast and highly accurate reading of how much virus is in a patient's blood.

The device is created by scientists at Imperial College London and the privately-held US firm DNA Electronics. 

The device uses a drop of blood to detect HIV, and then creates an electrical signal that can be read by a computer, laptop or handheld device.

According to the researchers, the technology which is still in the early stages, could allow patients to regularly monitor their virus levels in a similar way to diabetes patients checking their blood sugar levels.

The device could be particularly useful in remote settings to help HIV patients manage their treatment more effectively, since current tests to detect virus levels in the blood can take at least three days and also involve sending a blood sample to a laboratory.

Graham Cooke, who co-led the research from the Imperial's department of medicine said of the device;

"Monitoring viral load is crucial to the success of HIV treatment. At the moment, testing often requires costly and complex equipment that can take a couple of days to produce a result." 

"We have taken the job done by this equipment, which is the size of a large photocopier, and shrunk it down to a USB chip."

The test, uses a mobile phone chip and requires a drop of blood to be placed onto a spot on the USB stick. Any HIV present in the sample triggers an acidity change, which the chip transforms into an electrical signal. This is sent to the USB stick, which then shows the result on a computer or electronic device.

In the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers tested over 991 blood samples with results showing the stick test was 95 per cent accurate in detecting HIV levels, and the average time for a result was 20.8 minutes.

According to the researchers, the device will need to be further developed before it can be used by doctors and their patients.

Reuters