ETH researchers simplify PCR testing

Two doctoral students of the Functional Materials Laboratory at ETH Zurich have developed a testing device that will fundamentally change the way PCR testing is deployed in medicine. According to a report from ETH, this device reduces the time required for test from over two hours to just under 20 minutes, and the tests can be used anywhere at the touch of a button.

For diagnosing infectious diseases, local doctor’s surgeries will therefore no longer need to send samples to a medical lab for analysis, which typically takes several days to send the results back. Philippe Bechtold says that this would finally open the door to PCR testing in developing countries, which often lack the funding to perform laboratory analyses.

He has been working on the small device with Michele Gregorini for the past five years. The new device eliminates the need to painstakingly pipette 45-cycle PCR tests. All the reagents are freeze-​dried and deposited in the bottom of each cartridge, which is similar in size and shape to a coffee pod.

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the two researchers received funding from various sources. In October 2020, they founded their startup diaxxo together with their doctoral supervisor Professor Wendelin Stark. According to the report, the list of potential customers just keeps on growing.  The device is currently still pending approval as a medical device and so cannot be sold.

In the meantime, it is being used by research partners such as the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in a field study on Zanzibar. Schoolchildren across the country are being tested for schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms.