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This Open Source Device Can Detect Coronavirus on Surfaces

The Chai team has developed a detection test that works with their Open qPCR tool.

By this point, you’ve almost certainly heard something about the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that’s sweeping across the world. There are actually a range of viruses in the coronavirus family, but the current COVID-19 strain hadn’t been seen in humans until 2019. This pandemic started in Wuhan, China, but its contagious nature has caused it to spread to most major countries by now. Part of the challenge in stopping transmission is in even detecting the virus. That’s why the Chai team has developed a detection test that works with their Open qPCR device.

Chai first released the Open qPCR through Kickstarter, and it has been available since 2016. It’s an open source unit that is designed for affordable PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing. While the single-channel version costs $4,499, that is relatively inexpensive for lab equipment. PCR is an important kind of analysis that is used to find small traces of DNA in samples. That’s done through amplification, a process that copies that DNA repeatedly until enough of it exists to be detected. The CDC has already released the necessary information to use PCR testing to identify COVID-19, and the Chai Open qPCR makes the testing attainable.

The Chai Open qPCR device is built around a BeagleBone Black single-board computer (SBC) and development platform, which is part of how the costs are kept down. It can quickly boot various Linux distros, and has a fair amount of power in a small package. The test kit that Chai will be releasing soon will allow lab technicians to perform COVID-19 tests using the Open qPCR device. It’s important to note that this testing is intended to find out if COVID-19 is present on hard surfaces, and isn’t meant to test people. But the ability to test surfaces — especially with an affordable open source system — could do a lot to help slow the spread of this current coronavirus pandemic.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist. Check out my YouTube channel: Serial Hobbyism
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