Soon, You Can Conduct HIV Test With A USB Stick

Scientists in Britain have developed a type of HIV test 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, created by scientists at Imperial College London and US firm DNA Electronics, requires a drop of blood to detect HIV and then creates an electrical signal that can be read by a handheld device. Researchers said that the device could be useful in remote settings to help patients manage their treatments effectively, since current tests to detect virus levels take three days and involve sending a blood sample to a laboratory. Researchers 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 tests, which uses a mobile phone chip, requires a drop of blood to be placed onto a spot on the USB stick. Any HIV in the sample triggers an acidity change, which the chip transforms into an electrical signal. This is sent to the USB stick, which shows the result on a computer or electronic device. Results showed the stick test was 95% accurate over 991 blood samples, and the average time to produce a reading was 20.8 minutes.