Scientists at a Chinese university have developed a cellphone-sized instrument that enables medical workers to detect the Ebola virus in the field within an hour. 

The device provides a fast alternative to the common method for detecting Ebola, called reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which requires dedicated laboratories and takes hours to produce results. 

Real-time monitoring of viral loads in body fluid is also delayed, which can harbor the virus even though it is no longer detectable in blood, the American Chemical Society reported in journal Analytical Chemistry.  

Pavel Neuzil, a processor at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, and his team developed the palm-sized instrument to be used in remote locations. 

The 80-gram device can produce results within 37 minutes and the amount of sample required was 100 nL. 

The device is also capable of simultaneously performing four RT-PCRs on two controls and two patient blood samples, according the report.

(Northwestern Polytechnical University: Chang Honglong)

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