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DUBAI / ABU DHABI: For years, researchers had been developing laser-based reader to detect bacteria and even cancer.
Now, in Abu Dhabi, an ultra-sensitive light-based sensor had been “repurposed” to detect coronavirus in saliva or nasal swab.
The technique, known as Diffractive Phase Interferometry (DPI), looks for specific inflammation markers caused by a COVID-19 infection markers in sample.
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It is highly accurat and is is different from PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and antibody tests for coronavirus. Due speed and accuracy of tests, DPI is now considered the first line of defence against transmission.
Abu Dhabi’s laser-based test kicks up results within minutes and is now being used to speed up COVID-19 diagnosis at special testinng tents in dfferent areas of Abu Dhabi as well as in Ghantoot, the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
First line of defence
A negative result on the DPI test will allow entry to Abu Dhabi, while a positive result will lead to further testing through a PCR test.
The laser-based border test is still not as definitive as the PCR nasal swab, but it’s considered advanced and reliable enough to help in mass screening.
Unlike the highly accurate PCR, but which takes hours or day to process samples, DPI results are out in minutes.
The gear was developed by Abu Dhabi-based QuantLase Imaging Lab, a medical arm of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed International Holding Co (IHC). The testing tent in Ghantoot is operated by Tamouh Healthcare.
The number goes up to 8,000 on weekends.
Officials expect up to 10,000 people to pass through the tent every day during the Eid break.
What happens if I test negative on DPI?
If you test negative for COVID-19, you will be allowed to enter the Emirate of Abu Dhabi within 48 hours from the time of testing, health authorities stated.
What if my DPI test is positive?
If the DPI test shows a need for a PCR test, examinee will undergo PCR test at the center for Dhs320. The examinee must stay home until the result is shown.
‘Game-changer’
The UAE has pioneered the DPI-based rapid test. The non-invasive test uses “optical biosensors” and is seen as a game-changer in the coronavirus fight.
Laser tests kick up reliable results in minutes, said proponents.
Originally, the DPI laser test was developed to look for bacterial infections and cancer biomarkers. It has been “repurposed” to detect COVID-19 infections in patients, even with a small amount of the coronavirus.
Using what is called “nanophotonic biosensors”, based on a specialised complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), it detects virus antigens using miniaturised chips – from saliva or a nasal swab.
The nanosensor can detect robinucleic acid (RNA) strands that identifies SARS-CoV-2.
Specifically, the test detects changes in the cellular structure when infected by the virus, explained Dr. Pramod Kumar, who leads the research team.
Therefore, it detects COVID-19 in humans as soon as it is present in the body.
In May, the Abu Dhabi DPI team announced they had already created six DPI working laboratory demonstrator test devices.
This presents a number of advantages compared to traditional antibody test, which tend to kick up high rates of “false negatives”. The latter is also more invasive as it uses a ‘finger-prick” kit to detect the presence of antibodies in a person.
DPI laser testing advantages:
- Is low-cost and delivers faster results, allowing for mass screening;
- Uses a non-invasive method (via saliva or nasal swab sample);
- It looks for specific viral markers and subjects them to light sensors, giving results within seconds;
- Detecs in real-time with high specificity from a low-concentration sample;
- More reliable than an antibody test;
- Modular, portable testing gear, can be used a point-of-care or bedside detector
- Needs minimal training to operate
Sample preparation
Once a sample is prepared and is in place, the device confirms a positive or negative for coronavirus instantaneously.
However, allowing for preparation time and analysis, a result – from sample to diagnosis – may take up to 30 minutes.
Interferometers are widely used in science and industry for the measurement of small displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities.
In most interferometers, light from a single source is split into two beams that travel in different optical paths. These beams are then re-combined to produce interference.
In analytical science, interferometers are used to measure lengths and the shape of optical components with nanometer precision; they are the highest precision length measuring instruments in existence.
Besides biomolecular interactions, interferometry is also being used in astronomy, fiber optics, engineering metrology, optical metrology, oceanography, seismology, spectroscopy (and its applications to chemistry), quantum mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, plasma physics, remote sensing, among others.
Testing
European scientists are also testing the same laser detector in the COVID-19 fight. For example, researchers in Spain have tested the demonstrators on patients’ samples provided by Vall D´Hebrón Hospital in Barcelona and several other hospitals in Spain.
The Spanish DPI testing instrument is contained in portable box (25x15x25 cm), controlled from a tablet. Its proponents from Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology’s (Spain) said their rapid test kit is accurate, highly sensitive, non-invasive, inexpensive to produce and is user-friendly.
Preparing of samples is the only technical expertise required, so the equipment could be widely deployed for general practitioners or nurses to test patients.
July 14, 2020: Abu Dhabi introduces a laser-based technique to screened for COVID-19 upon entry in the emirate.
July 18, 2020: Tamouh Healthcare opened its second new tent for laser-based DPI screening in Seih Shoaib to mitigate the crowd being experienced at the first tent in Ghantoot area. The new centre has triple the capacity of the first one.
July 27, 2020: The Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA) added three more test centers (Zayed Sports City, Corniche area, and Hili area in Al Ain) to conduct COVID-19 testing via DPI laser-based technology.
July 30, 2020: The DPI test pre-booking rule was waived for families.
Medical innovations in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates is consolidating its position as a centre of innovation. It has pioneered health research and the fight against COVID-19.
For example, doctors at the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Centre have devised a world-first nebuliser-based stem cell therapy which has proven to treat severe cases of coronavirus, and increase survival rates.
The UAE has also repurposed Strata’s airctaft parts manufacturing facility in the desert oasis city of Al Ain to produce 90,000 N95 masks. The UAE has so far airlifted medical gear to 71 countries, equivalent to 1,046 metric tons of aid.
With the DPI laser test, the UAE has shown its ability to innovate to help solve a global health challenge.
It’s not immediately clear whether the Abu Dhabi’s DPI tester would be mass produced for export.
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