Sydney, Australia (CU)_ A biosensor, which is capable of detecting the existence of minuscule amounts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its strains, is being developed by RMIT University in collaboration with partners including Australian biomedical start-up Soterius. The Soterius Scout sensor is a trusted, accurate, and non-invasive sensor that can provide results in less than a minute, allowing someone to enter their workplace or alarm them if they had to do a medical COVID test and self-isolate.
Soterius is currently working with RMIT, MIP Diagnostics, the Burnet Institute, D+I, and Vestech to further enhance the successful prototype in preparation for commercial launch next year. The technology will be made in Australia and will be delivered to hospitals at first, with future uses in other important worker and high-traffic environments including as elderly care, quarantine hotels, airports, and schools.
Dr. Alasdair Wood, co-founder of Soterius, claimed that developing ambient viral sensors are bulky, energy-intensive, and can only detect one type of virus. Wood said, “Our biosensor is so small it can fit on a personal fob card and it’s easy to use – you just need to swipe your card over a reader at checkpoints. Importantly, one sensor can detect up to 8 viral strains and our technology can be easily adapted to detect new variants or novel viruses as they emerge”. He added, “We hope the Soterius Scout biosensor could be a vital tool for managing COVID-19, providing accurate early detection to prevent outbreaks and avoid the need for future lockdowns.”
According to prototype testing done at RMIT in collaboration with Burnet Institute, the Soterius Scout biosensor identifies SARS-CoV-2 spike protein fragments with excellent accuracy and zero false positive results. Even if a person is asymptomatic, this technology can identify COVID-19. Study also revealed that the sensor may emerge as an effective diagnostic tool to detect respiratory disorders, and currently it is being tested to identify additional diseases including influenza and MERS.
The sensor is based on nanotechnology-enabled biosensors developed by researchers of RMIT at the Micro Nano Research Facility, which is a cutting-edge facility. RMIT has filed a patent application for the biosensors technology, with Soterius filing a patent application for the integrated system. According to Professor Sharath Sriram, the project leader at RMIT, the cooperation will speed up the translation of RMIT research into critical new technologies.
Sriram said, “As the fourth lockdown in Melbourne shows, COVID-19 is not going away any time soon and we need smart solutions to help us detect the virus and contain outbreaks”. He added, “It is exciting to see our platform sensor technology at the core of this smart new solution for the management of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses in workplaces, to help protect our frontline workers and the wider community.”
