A CRISPR-based lateral flow assay (LFA) detection kit would be designed and developed for testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. The aim of the project is to study the feasibility of implementing the novel point-of-care test (POCT) for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health service setting, with the following objectives: (b) Evaluation of the performance of novel POCT in comparison with conventional quantitative PCR in diagnosis SARS-CoV-2 infection and (c) Assessment of the practicability of LFA-CRISPR-based tests in the operating environments in healthcare settings.~Patients who are admitted to the isolation wards of Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong would be invited to join the study. A total of 600 persons with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection presenting with different symptomatology and epidemiological history will be recruited. Nasal, deep saliva and/or mouth gargle samples will be collected from all recruited subjects in accordance with standard clinical protocol. The samples would be tested for SARS-CoV-2 by the new Point-of-care test, in parallel with standard diagnostic testing of the hospital.
The aim of the project is to study the feasibility of implementing a novel point-of-care test (POCT) for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A CRISPR-based detection kit would be piloted for testing of suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare setting, with the objectives of evaluating the performance of the new test in the detection of SARS-CoV-2, and assessing the practicability of the new test for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare settings.