Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2024 - 19

dent we could create a portable, lowcost
device that could carry out genetic
identification of the virus, like a
PCR test, within 10 minutes. We have
done that but found it can actually
work within just three minutes. "
The testing unit is projected to cost
as little as £50 (about $62) when it
reaches mass production, while the
test cartridges, currently made for
£2.50 ($3.10), could cost less than 50
pence ($.62).
If the specific virus RNA is present
in the amplified sample, it fluoresces
under light - this signal is
then used to denote a positive test.
The device was tested with
COVID-19 patient swabs collected
by Bath's Royal United Hospital
Trusts during the third wave of the
pandemic.
LoCKAmp harnesses a process
known as RT-LAMP (reverse transcription
loop-mediated isothermal
amplification) to multiply specific
sequences of RNA, meaning it can
quickly detect a particular virus. The
team says LAMP detection is preferable
to PCR testing as it has higher
sensitivity, is faster, and more specific.
Crucially, processing takes place
at a single stable temperature of 65 °C,
instead of needing the three thermal cycles
a PCR test requires. This means the
device can be made easier at a portable
size, and with lower power consumption.
A further benefit of the design is
that no pre-processing of the nasal swab
samples is required.
As well as proving the system's
capability in analyzing nasal swab
samples, the LoCKAmp could also
be used to carry out anonymized
community-level monitoring and
detection of viruses like COVID-19
by testing wastewater.
Dr. Despina Moschou has led the development of a compact,
rapid, accurate genetic testing device. (Image:
www.bath.ac.uk)
Once a nasal swab sample is added to
the device, the LoCKAmp pumps the liquid
through tiny transparent 'microfluidic'
channels layered onto the circuit board,
above copper heaters just 0.017- mm thick.
These heat the sample, releasing the RNA
genetic material from the virus. This is then
further heated and treated with RT-LAMP
chemicals to encourage multiplication.
" With LoCKAmp technology providing
both low-cost and real-time
genetic target identification and
quantification, we're getting ever
closer to real-time pathogen tracking, "
said Professor Barbara KasprzykHordern.
" This opens exciting opportunities
enabling the establishment of
early warning systems utilizing wastewater
for pathogen surveillance in
communities. "
For more information, contact Will
McManus at wem25@bath.ac.uk; +4401225-385798.
New
Semiconductor Detector Shows Promise for Medical
Diagnostics
Detector can identify radioactive isotopes with high resolution.
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
N
orthwestern University researchers
have developed new devices based
on a low-cost material to aid in the
detection and identification of radioactive
isotopes. Using cesium lead bromide
in the form of perovskite crystals,
the research team found that they were
able to create highly efficient detectors
in both small, portable devices for field
re searchers and in very large detectors.
The results are more than a decade in
the making.
Northwestern Professor Mercouri
Kanatzidis, who led the research, said
that in addition to being less costly than
typical devices, the new method for detecting
gamma rays is also highly capable
at differentiating between rays of different
energies. This method allows users to
identify legal versus illegal gamma rays.
Detectors like these are critical for medical
diagnostics imaging.
Tech Briefs, May 2024
study was published in the journal Nature
Photonics. Kanatzidis is the Charles E. and
Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry
in the Weinberg College of Arts and
Sciences. He has a joint appointment
with Argonne Na tional Laboratory.
In past research, the team compared
performance of the new cesium lead
bromide detector to the conventional
The research created highly efficient detectors
in both small, portable devices for field researchers
and in very large detectors. (Image:
Northwestern)
" Using the perovskite material, we have
achieved high resolution in energy detection
for gamma rays using a pixelated
detector design, " Kanatzidis said. " This
takes us a step closer to creating electronic
systems for medical diagnostics and
imaging, airport security, and more. " The
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cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector
and found it performed as well in detecting
gamma rays. But new research
that improved crystal sizes and leveraged
pixels rather than planar electrodes has
advanced the spectral resolution well beyond
that of conventional designs, from
around 3.8 to 1.4 percent, detecting energy
even from very weak sources.
Radioactive isotopes emit gamma rays
that differ slightly in energy, often differing
by just a few percentage points. Using the
new material, users can better identify the
19
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Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2024

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