Scientists are trialling a new Covid test that could provide results on your smartphone within ten minutes.
French researchers have created a rapid coronavirus test that early results suggest could be 90% acccurate.
Early results suggest it could prove just as reliable as slower tests currently being used in the UK.
The researchers say their test is three times faster than a lateral-flow antigen tests, and almost as standard as the slower, but more reliable and commonly-used PCR tests.
The prototype test, called CorDial-1, has not been approved for use yet.
But initial trials on 300 samples showed a 90% accuracy rate compared to PCR, for both negative and positive results.
The prototype test can deliver results within 10 minutes, and can be used outside the laboratory, according to the team developing it.
Whereas PCR testing typically takes hours and needs lab conditions, with official NHS test results for the public taking up to 48 hours or sometimes longer in periods of high demand.
The testing is carried out using the device the size of a large USB stick.
When it is plugged into a smartphone, the current shows up as a signal on a graph.
There are other quick and portable Covid-19 tests available, but scientists have raised doubts about their reliability.
The CorDial-1 test uses antibody fragments called nanobodies.
They are derived from camelids - a group that includes camels, dromedaries, llamas and alpacas - because they are more stable than antibodies from other creatures.
The test works by grafting nanobodies are onto the surface of an electrode.
When those nanobodies come into contact with the “spike” protein of the Covid-19 virus, they interact to produce a change in the electrical current across the electrode.
When the testing apparatus is plugged into a smartphone, the current shows up as a signal on a graph.
"Depending on the height of the signal, you can say if you are Covid positive or negative,” explained Sabine Szunerits.
The University of Lille researcher is working on the project with scientists at the University of Marseille and the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
The next phase of the project is to run a three-month trial on more than 1,000 people.
Christophe Demaille, lead researcher in molecular electrochemistry at the University of Paris, who is not involved in the project, said tests that rely on electrical signals are highly portable.
“I am confident it will be usable anywhere,” he said of the CorDial-1 project.
The latest potential rapid testing option comes as the UK gets its first look Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown.
His steps to reopening sections of the economy including shops, and eventually pubs and travel, rest on key tests being met.
A goal of ending restrictions after June 21 rests on the success of vaccines to replace the protection of restrictions, along with other measures.
The return to schools on March 8 will see secondary pupils required to take part in mass testing.
Primary pupils who have been going into classrooms will continue to take twice-weekly tests.
There has also been official talk this week of of ramped-up testing and vaccine certification processes to help reopen long-closed sections of the economy, such as nightclubs and events.
