Harmony COVID-19: A ready-to-use kit, low-cost detector, and smartphone app for point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection

RNA amplification tests sensitively detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but their complexity and cost are prohibitive for expanding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing. We developed "Harmony COVID-19,"a point-of-care test using inexpensive consumables, ready-to-use reagents, and a simple device. Our ready-to-use, multiplexed reverse transcription, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) can detect down to 0.38 SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies/ill and can report in 17 min for high-viral load samples (5000 copies/mu l). Harmony detected 97 or 83% of contrived samples with >= 0.5 viral particles/ill in nasal matrix or saliva, respectively. Evaluation in clinical nasal specimens (n =101) showed 100% detection of RNA extracted from specimens with >= 0.5 SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies/mu l, with 100% specificity in specimens positive for other respiratory pathogens. Extraction-free analysis (n = 29) had 95% success in specimens with >= 1 RNA copies/mu l. Usability testing performed first time by health care workers showed 95% accuracy.