Problem

Although there are many diagnose tests available that can detect even the smallest traces of a pathogen, they usually require expensive lab-equipment or skilled labor. Usually, places most prone to diseases are also the ones most lacking such equipment or personal, and thus, where tests are least asequible. Many different diseases can present similar symptoms. But because the treatment for each of them can vary greatly (e.g. bacterial vs viral infetion), a quick and reliable diagnose is important to start as soon as possible with the right treatment. On the other hand, wrongly recognizing the cause of a disease not only leads to prescription of the wrong medicine, but also can contribute to the spread of resistances.

New diagnose tool must take these points into consideration and be designed with affordability, availability, simplicity and reliability in mind, and, where possible, be flexible enough to cover a wide array of diseases in order to present the user with a single, powerful product.

Solution

We are working at a diagnose tool that combines the power of high sensible methods with the affordability needed for a wide application field. Our project, named CascAID, utilizes a CRISPR/Cas effector protein to quickly and reliably test for different pathogens based on their RNA. By cleverly designing a short RNA sequence, it is possible to guide this protein to cleave RNA molecules. If the sample contained pathogen, then digested RNA will be found, where as a negative sample won't produce digestion fragments.

In additon, we are trying to make CascAID an affordable but single use product thus reducing the risk of cross-contamination without increasing the production cost.