The goal of this project was to create a disposable Ebola virus rapid diagnostics test. Comprised of a lateral flow strip, Arduino Uno (with GPS and SD card shields), and a low cost optical sensor, the test automatically reads the result of the lateral flow test and stores it along with the GPS location of positive or negative test on the SD card. The SD card can then be removed and the test disposed of.
The red slider on the front of the test covers the sample insertion hole and automatically triggers a timer when opened. After a few minutes of the sample having been inserted, Arduino Uno will read the result of the test with the optical sensor (sensing one or two dots on the lateral flow strip), and record this result on the SD card. At the same time, the GPS location of the test is stored along with the result. The automatic and contained nature of all these steps provides less room for error and exposure to the virus. Furthermore, the GPS coordinate pairing with the test results allows heat map generation, showing the spread of the virus as well as particularly concentrated areas of infection.
The main housing of the test is 3D printed and includes Lego connectors on the top and bottom of the test to allow easy stacking and storage of unused tests. The optical sensor was made on a CNC routed PCB board, along with surface mounted LEDs and photo-resistors.