A research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) had constructed a user-friendly, portable device which can accurately screen a wide range of diseases like Zika, Ebola, dengue, malaria, hepatitis etc. in a quick manner. Using the technology named enVision (enzyme-assisted nanocomplexes for visual identification of nucleic acids), the device can also detect varied genetic diseases and cancer types.

If the disease is detected, this essay turns from colorless to brown. For the quantitative estimation of the pathogen count, the analysis can be done using a smartphone.

This test takes only 30 minutes to the one-hour duration for detection. Same way, the test kit costs around $1 which is much lesser compared to the costs of other tests.

Shao Huilin, the research team head and the assistant professor from the Biomedical Institute for Global Health Research and Technology (BIGHEART) and NUS - Biomedical Engineering Department, said "The envisioned platform is extremely sensitive, accurate, fast, and low-cost. It works at room temperature and does not require heaters or special pumps, making it very portable. With this invention, tests can be done at the point-of-care, for instance in community clinics or hospital wards, so that disease monitoring or treatment can be administered in a timely manner to achieve better health outcomes."

This research work was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.