Alternative to "gold standard" PCR: RT-LAMP for cheap and fast SARS-CoV-2 detection
An inter-institute team of scientists around Julius Brennecke (IMBA) and Andrea Pauli (IMP) developed a new SARS-CoV-2 detection method: by rather simple means, their RT-LAMP test is cheaper than PCR testing - and achieves results with comparable sensitivity and specificity.
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) therefore recommends its use for hospitals and diagnostic laboratories that do not yet have established PCR diagnostics. Free training courses for laboratory staff have started in the frame of pilot projects.
The scientists hope that the open-access protocols and reagents will promote faster and cheaper monitoring practices for Covid-19. To help this cause, a website was set up to promote the use of RT-LAMP (see link below).
Full story: https://www.viennabiocenter.org/about/news/rt-lamp/
Further Reading
Protocols, materials and instruction videos can be found at www.rtlamp.org
AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety: https://www.ages.at/