Surveilling and Tracking COVID-19 Patients Using a Portable Quantum Dot Smartphone Device
Yuwei Zhang, Ayden Malekjahani, Buddhisha Udugama, Pranav Kadhiresan, Hongmin Chen, Matthew Osborne, Max Franz, Mike Kucera, Simon Plenderleith, Lily Yip, Gary D. Bader, Vanessa Tran, Jonathan B. Gubbay, Allison McGeer, Samira Mubareka, Warren C. W. Chan
Abstract
The ability to rapidly diagnose, track, and disseminate information for SARS-CoV-2 is critical to minimize its spread. Here, we engineered a portable smartphone-based quantum barcode serological assay device for real-time surveillance of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Our device achieved a clinical sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 100% for SARS-CoV-2, as compared to 34% and 100%, respectively, for lateral flow assays in a head-to-head comparison. The lateral flow assay misdiagnosed ∼2 out of 3 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. Our quantum dot barcode device has ∼3 times greater clinical sensitivity because it is ∼140 times more analytically sensitive than lateral flow assays. Our device can diagnose SARS-CoV-2 at different sampling dates and infectious severity. We developed a databasing app to provide instantaneous results to inform patients, physicians, and public health agencies. This assay and device enable real-time surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and potential immunity.