AI helps create better, simpler hepatitis, Covid-19 tests

New York: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) US researchers, including one of Indian origin, have developed a simple test that works for both hepatitis C and Covid-19, and delivers results in just a few minutes.

The test was 97 per cent accurate for SARS-CoV-2 and 95 per cent accurate for the most prevalent version of the hepatitis C virus found globally, the researchers reported in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

The simplified test developed by University of Florida scientists currently happens in one small test tube, but it could arrive at doctor’s offices soon and, one day, become available as home tests that are as easy as a pregnancy test.

“We are trying to build a home-based test that is as reliable as a lab-based test,” said Piyush Jain, Professor of chemical engineering who led the latest research.

“Our objective is to develop a simple test that eliminates the need for expensive equipment and provides results in just 10 to 20 minutes,” he added.

Using AI, Jain’s group developed a system known as a one-pot reaction because the entire test happens in one small test tube.

These tests, based on a technology known as RT-LAMP, can amplify small portions of a virus’s genome and produce a visible signal when it detects the virus.