DALLAS (SMU) – A new antibody test being developed by a team that includes two SMU researchers has the potential to detect the presence of antibodies generated in response to COVID-19 faster and with more accuracy than current antibody testing.
Antibody tests are key to helping determine how many coronavirus cases have gone undetected and whether people who have had the virus might now be immune – measurements that can help the healthcare community manage the COVID-19 pandemic and plan for the future. But conventional antibody tests tend to be slow to show results and frequently inaccurate.
Researchers estimate the “Lab on a Chip” test could detect immune responses to coronavirus in as fast as one minute, with just a drop of blood. The materials used to create the test are inexpensive, which should result in low-cost mass production.
Ali Beskok, The Brown Foundation, Inc Professor of Engineering at SMU's Lyle School of Engineering and J.-C. Chiao, The Templeton Centennial Chair and professor in Lyle's Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering are the lead researchers behind the test.
KRLD's John Liddle spoke with Chiao about the development.