Washington:
A US-based nanotechnology firm, headed by an Indian-origin scientist, claims to have created an inexpensive mobile device and app that can accurately test for AIDS in just under an hour.
It is called Gene-Radar, and it works by taking a drop of blood, saliva, or other bodily fluid and placing it on a nanochip that is then put into the device.
Dr Anita Goel, chairman and CEO of Nanobiosym, in Boston, said that their device is able to provide a "gold standard" test, which usually takes six months to yield results.
In the US, a "gold standard" test takes at least two weeks to get results and can cost $200, 'Mashable.com' reported.
"What we've done at Gene-Radar is take that test - that costs $200 and takes two weeks - and make it accessible. So we've brought it almost 50 to 100 times cheaper," Goel said.
The rapid test results can also be used to track and contain disease outbreaks, Goel said.
"Our device could be used not only to sense who has this disease, but upload the data into a cloud, so you could monitor the disease spreading in this place," Goel said.
While Gene-Radar is a device, it gets the ability to test for AIDS through an app, the website reported.
Nanobiosym has already developed another app to test for E coli, and is working on several different ones that could detect ailments such as malaria or tuberculosis.
Gene-Radar can track diseases with a genetic footprint from the beginning so that care can be swift. It also factors in element, such as how a patient reacts to gluten, that could affect the type of medicine used.