Harnessing viruses for home diagnostics

Key advances in healthcare have arisen from the implementation of point-of-care (PoC) testing in minimally equipped laboratories or at home. PoC tests are used in the detection of various analytes, biomarkers, and pathogens, and are widely used due to their convenience, low cost and reliability. One of the best-known PoC tests is a lateral flow immuno-chromatographic assay (LFA) for the detection of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Readouts for LFAs have ranged from colorimetric, to magnetic readings, to chemiluminescence in order to achieve high sensitivity.