Smartphone-Based Mobile Detection Platform for Molecular Diagnostics and Spatiotemporal Disease Mapping
Song et al.
The finding, in our words
The authors developed a smartphone-connected cup that uses bioluminescent loop-mediated isothermal amplification to quantitatively detect Zika virus in saliva and urine, and HIV in blood within 45 minutes. The electricity-free heating and integrated smartphone app enable spatiotemporal disease mapping, making it suitable for decentralised diagnostics in resource-limited settings.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
This review establishes that microsampling across blood, saliva, urine and stool matrices offers validated workflows and regulatory recognition for human biomonitoring comparable to conventional methods. It finds that these decentralised approaches enhance participant acceptability and enable screening in remote or low-resource settings.
In a decentralised Eswatini clinic, molecular testing on the Xpert platform of self-collected urine and swabs found a 31.7% prevalence of Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, or Trichomonas, with 20.8% of these asymptomatic. Although limited by a cross-sectional design, this shows the feasibility of patient-centric sampling for sexually transmitted infection screening in resource-limited settings.
Kerschberger et al., Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · source ↗
This review summarises how emerging HPV detection methods including CRISPR/Cas systems, droplet digital PCR and isothermal amplification, combined with self-collected vaginal swabs and liquid biopsy from urine or blood, could improve screening acceptability and enable point-of-care testing compared with conventional approaches that require invasive sampling and centralised laboratory infrastructure.
Shi et al., Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · source ↗
This review found saliva comparable to blood and urine for detecting viral genetic material and antibodies, supporting patient-centric monitoring and decentralised surveillance. The authors state that standardised protocols and further validation are required for routine clinical use.
This randomised trial found that peer-delivered HIV self-testing and sexually transmitted infection self-sampling did not improve oral pre-exposure prophylaxis adherence among transgender women in Uganda compared to standard care. Adherence was monitored using dried blood spots and urine, which showed a strong correlation in tenofovir detection.
Mujugira et al., Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes · source ↗