The One Hour COVID Test: A Rapid Colorimetric Reverse-Transcription LAMP–Based COVID-19 Test Requiring Minimal Equipment

Abstract

At this writing, over 100 million people have tested positive for Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19), and the global death toll from this disease has reached nearly 3 million. Despite the many tests currently available, we have not yet achieved the testing capacity needed to limit the spread of the virus and mitigate suffering worldwide. We have developed the One Hour COVID Test to address this challenge. Our test leverages an easy-to-use, commercially available oral swab kit for sample collection paired with a novel RNA processing protocol and a simple colorimetric assay that requires minimal equipment. The test can be easily scaled via automation and takes 1 h from sample collection to result.