A study shows the battery-powered MiniDock MTB device detects tuberculosis DNA using tongue swabs.
A portable, battery-powered device called MiniDock MTB can deliver tuberculosis (TB) test results in less than 30 minutes, matching the effectiveness of traditional laboratory testing.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the University of California San Francisco and University of California Irvine (UC Irvine) found the device identifies cases even in patients who cannot produce sputum samples.
The MiniDock MTB uses molecular technology to detect the DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for the disease. This method is similar to the technology used in hospital-based COVID-19 testing. The World Health Organization has issued its first recommendation for this category of TB test based on these results.
“For patients who can’t produce sputum, like children or people with HIV, tongue swabs move the needle from ‘no diagnosis possible at this clinic’ to ‘accurate molecular testing here now,’” says Adithya Cattamanchi, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine at UC Irvine and co-lead author of the study, in a release.
Current point-of-care TB diagnostics often rely on technology from the 1800s, using dyes and microscopes to examine sputum, which can lead to delays or inaccurate results. Conventional molecular tests often require expensive laboratory infrastructure that is not always available in high-burden areas. The MiniDock MTB is designed to be easy to use, with study providers learning to operate the system after reading basic instructions.
“Patients who today would have to leave a clinic undiagnosed could soon be diagnosed and treated the same day,” says Cattamanchi in a release. “We hope to see more widespread adoption as evidence like ours stacks up.”
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the US State Department, and the Gates Foundation, among other international organizations. Researchers noted that the ability to provide accurate molecular testing at the point of care could reduce the time patients wait for results from days or weeks to a single clinical visit.
ID 175736297 © Riopatuca | Dreamstime.com
