While COVID-19 testing doesn’t take nearly as long as it did a year ago, healthcare stakeholders continue to work on developing increasingly rapid tests.
To that end, the University of Utah recently announced that it has formed a partnership with ARUP Laboratories and Techcyte Inc. to develop NanoSpot.AI, a quick and simple AI-driven COVID-19 antibody test.
NanoSpot.AI is a less than five-minute test, and developers estimate it will be significantly less expensive to manufacture than other COVID-19 antibody tests, potentially making it available around the world.
NanoSpot.AI is performed on a spot of blood obtained through a finger prick. Droplets of blood are then placed on three spots on a ready-to-use, synthetic, embossed card. One of the spots displays the test result, while the other two spots are positive and negative controls for the test. Individuals then receive their test results on their cellphones.
“Other antibody tests are available and are very good, but it takes time to get test results back and they’re relatively expensive,” said Hans Haecker, MD, PhD, a codeveloper of NanoSpot.AI and a professor in the U Pathology Department Division of Microbiology and Immunology.
“Based on what we know so far, we believe NanoSpot.AI checks all the boxes. Because it is simple, fast, and very affordable, it can be done anywhere without specialized equipment, creating the potential for us to have an impact on human health around the world.”
According to the development team, the test could help prioritize who should receive COVID-19 vaccinations, or to quickly and easily detect whether individuals have some immunity against COVID-19 for travel or immigration purposes. Clinical studies validating NanoSpot.AI are currently underway.
“As a national reference laboratory, ARUP has a wide view of laboratory diagnostics,” said Mark Astill, ARUP director of Research and Development. “The expertise and experience we bring enabled what may be the first instance of combining seemingly disparate elements to produce a rapid, economical, QR-code-curated, consistent, point-of-care result.”
To ensure accurate results, the person administering the test uses a mobile phone to take a photograph of the card, which is then transmitted to Techcyte for analysis using an AI-based image analysis tool.
“Our platform breaks each blood spot into thousands of features that the AI uses to statistically determine which specimens are positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies,” said Ben Cahoon, Techcyte CEO.
Researchers believe organizations can easily adapt the assay to test for antibodies to COVID-19 variants as new mutations emerge. Providers can view NanoSpot.AI as a platform because the test and the AI can be developed to test for antibodies against other viruses.