New COVID Test Can Quickly Detect Variants

University of Florida researchers have invented a test that can determine within 10-15 minutes whether patients test positive for COVID and, if so, which of the five known variants of concern they have.

The research, published Saturday in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine, involves the use of a simple heating device and a cellphone. The team also used a new form of CRISPR — a means of finding and targeting a specific section of genetic material inside a cell — to quickly and effectively diagnose COVID and learn which variant of concern is in a patient sample: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, or omicron.

The finding could provide policymakers with vital information about when to require masking and prepare hospitals for a wave of infections. It could also allow patients and family members to prevent or treat a particular variant more effectively.

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