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Biology & Life Sciences
Diagnostic Tests in Low-Resource Settings
Advances in technology and engineering over the past few decades have led to an increased interest in developing new, low-cost diagnostic techniques for use in resource-constrained settings. This Collection showcases recent advances in initial laboratory experiments and technology development as well as in-field clinical applications of these technologies.
Submit your research to PLOS ONE, PLOS Biology, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases or PLOS Water to feature your research in this collection.
Image Credit: George Hodan
PLOS PATHOGENS
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Chikungunya in Indonesia: Epidemiology and diagnostic challenges
Background: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is often overlooked as an etiology of fever in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Lack of diagnostic…
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Diagnostic tools for soil-transmitted helminths control and elimination programs: A pathway for diagnostic product development
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PLOS ONE
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PLOS ONE Considerations in evaluating equipment-free blood culture bottles: A short protocol for use in low-resource settings
Use of equipment-free, “manual” blood cultures is still widespread in low-resource settings, as requirements for implementation of…
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PLOS ONE PhyloPi: An affordable, purpose built phylogenetic pipeline for the HIV drug resistance testing facility
Introduction: Phylogenetic analysis plays a crucial role in quality control in the HIV drug resistance testing laboratory. If previous…
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PLOS ONE “Do-It-Yourself” reliable pH-stat device by using open-source software, inexpensive hardware and available laboratory equipment
In this paper, we present the construction of a reliable and inexpensive pH stat device, by using open-source “OpenPhControl” software,…
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PLOS ONE 3D printing and milling a real-time PCR device for infectious disease diagnostics
Diagnosing infectious diseases using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) offers a conclusive result in determining the…
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PLOS ONE Low-Cost 3D Printers Enable High-Quality and Automated Sample Preparation and Molecular Detection
Most molecular diagnostic assays require upfront sample preparation steps to isolate the target’s nucleic acids, followed by its…
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PLoS ONE The Open Access Malaria Box: A Drug Discovery Catalyst for Neglected Diseases
Historically, one of the key problems in neglected disease drug discovery has been identifying new and interesting chemotypes. Phenotypic…
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PLOS ONE Low cost automated whole smear microscopy screening system for detection of acid fast bacilli
Background: In countries with high tuberculosis (TB) burden, there is urgent need for rapid, large-scale screening to detect smear-positive…
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PLOS ONE Comparing low-cost handheld autorefractors: A practical approach to measuring refraction in low-resource settings
Purpose: To compare and validate the accuracy and ease of use of handheld autorefractors against retinoscopic refraction by an…
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PLOS ONE Detection of breast cancer lymph node metastases in frozen sections with a point-of-care low-cost microscope scanner
Background: Detection of lymph node metastases is essential in breast cancer diagnostics and staging, affecting treatment and prognosis.…
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PLOS ONE Identification of selected genetic polymorphisms in polycystic ovary syndrome in Sri Lankan women using low cost genotyping techniques
Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the commonest endocrine disorder affecting young women, appears to be a multigenic trait with…
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PLOS ONE Diagnostic accuracy of antigen-based immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic tests for the detection of Salmonella in blood culture broth
Background: In low resource settings, Salmonella serovars frequently cause bloodstream infections. This study investigated the diagnostic…
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PLOS ONE Assessment of eight nucleic acid amplification technologies for potential use to detect infectious agents in low-resource settings
Nucleic acid amplification technologies (NAATs) are high-performance tools for rapidly and accurately detecting infectious agents. They…
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PLOS ONE Reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification assay for rapid detection of canine associated rabies virus in Africa
Rabies is a neglected disease mostly affecting the developing world. Accurate and reliable diagnostic and surveillance data forms the…
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PLOS ONE MPT64 antigen detection test improves routine diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in a low-resource setting: A study from the tertiary care hospital in Zanzibar
Background: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is a diagnostic challenge. An immunochemistry-based MPT64 antigen detection test (MPT64…
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PLOS ONE Target Product Profile for a mobile app to read rapid diagnostic tests to strengthen infectious disease surveillance
The essential role of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in disease control is compromised every time a test is not performed correctly or its…
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PLOS ONE Development and validation of a portable, point-of-care canine distemper virus qPCR test
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a multi-host pathogen that can cause significant mortality in domestic, wild terrestrial and marine…
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PLOS ONE A modular, open-source, slide-scanning microscope for diagnostic applications in resource-constrained settings
In this paper we report the development of a cost-effective, modular, open source, and fully automated slide-scanning microscope, composed…
PLOS BIOLOGY
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Image creditCoronavirus by Yuri Samoilov, CC BY 2.0PLOS Biology Multiplex qPCR discriminates variants of concern to enhance global surveillance of SARS-CoV-2
With the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants that may increase transmissibility and/or…
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PLOS Biology CombiANT: Antibiotic interaction testing made easy
Antibiotic combination therapies are important for the efficient treatment of many types of infections, including those caused by…
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PLOS Biology A sensitive and affordable multiplex RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection
With the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory…
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PLOS Biology Rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 with CRISPR-Cas12a
The recent outbreak of betacoronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is responsible for the…
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PLOS Biology Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by multiplex RT-qPCR
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PLOS Biology Machine learning of human plasma lipidomes for obesity estimation in a large population cohort
Obesity is associated with changes in the plasma lipids. Although simple lipid quantification is routinely used, plasma lipids are rarely…
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PLOS Biology Resistance diagnostics as a public health tool to combat antibiotic resistance: A model-based evaluation
Rapid point-of-care resistance diagnostics (POC-RD) are a key tool in the fight against antibiotic resistance. By tailoring drug choice to…
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PLOS Biology Rapid ultrasensitive detection platform for antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Rapid detection and phenotyping of pathogenic microbes is critical for administration of effective antibiotic therapies and for impeding…
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PLOS Biology Surveillance to maintain the sensitivity of genotype-based antibiotic resistance diagnostics
The sensitivity of genotype-based diagnostics that predict antimicrobial susceptibility is limited by the extent to which they detect…