COVID-19 Rapid Response: A Handheld Diagnostic Device for COVID-19 in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities

Meat and poultry processing facilities experienced widespread COVID-19 transmission. The CDCsuggested that these facilities consider testing for COVID-19. OmniVis proposes a handheldsmartphone-enabled device for the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 from saliva samples to bedistributed for use to meat and poultry processing facilities. Our device uses loop-mediatedisothermal amplification (LAMP) to identify SARS-CoV-2 genes while our proprietarymeasurement technique particle diffusometry provides sensitive readout methods for pathogendetection. Our device also reports and maps the data which could help better manage COVID-19outbreaks. However we have not tested saliva samples in our device and saliva samples maycontain low concentrations of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore this proposal has two objectives: (1) todevelop a saliva collection cup for SARS-CoV-2 testing and (2) to test whether strand- displacement probes make a SARS-CoV-2 LAMP assay more effective at detecting low sampleconcentrations. Computer aided design and 3D printing will be used to develop the salivacollection cup. Further strand displacement probe design methods will be used to design LAMPassays that are robust in point-of-use settings.We anticipate that development of the saliva collection cup will be successful. Specifically weanticipate it will hold at least 6.7 mL of sample will not leak and will withstand drop tests. Wealso anticipate that LAMP assays containing strand displacement probes will detect SARS-CoV- 2 at lower sample concentrations than standard LAMP assays. Completion of both objectives willbe critical steps in preparing our device for use with saliva samples on-site at meat and poultryprocessing facilities.