Abstract

Managing COVID Pandemic Using Rapid Testing Systems: An Austrian Perspective

Peter Ertl, Professor of Lab-on-a-Chip Systems, Vienna University of Technology

The incidence of viral distribution and infection has soared over the past decades due to population growth and increased travel, resulting in a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 viral outbreak. As a consequence, rapid detection and identification of viral infections is a pressing human health issue. Faster, more accurate diagnosis will benefit health care systems, in particular by significantly reducing time-to-result and providing better more reliable epidemiological data that can be used for infectious disease control. In course of the present presentation current Covid-19 test kits are reviewed and evaluated for point-of-care and on-site applications. Additionally, our efforts to develop a self-powered sensing solution combining liquid handling, microbatteries, optical read out unit microsensor arrays on a fully integrated and stand-alone lab-on-a-chip system will be discussed.