Smartphone-operated origami paper sensor reduces disease testing time by 62%

Scientists at Cranfield University have created a groundbreaking technique for detecting biomarkers in wastewater using origami-paper sensors. These sensors can be analyzed with just a mobile phone camera.

This affordable and rapid testing device has the potential to revolutionize how public health strategies are implemented during future pandemics.

“This method is evidence-based, simple and cheap, without the need to take samples from individual people. Testing one sample will cover many people’s information in the population, it will make people better understand infectious disease and probably improve the ways to prevent it,” Zhugen Yang, the lead author of the paper, told Interesting Engineering .

Making testing easier

Zhugen Yang, Professor of Biosensing and Environmental Health at Cranfield University, spearheaded the development of these sentinel sensors. This innovation builds on his 2020 research , which created a paper-based platform to detect SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), Influenza A, and Influenza B in wastewater using a UV torch or mobile phone camera.

Previously, the most reliable method for analyzing wastewater involved PCR testing, which requires centralized labs and trained technicians. In contrast, the new approach is quick, user-friendly, and portable.

Wastewater samples are applied to wax-printed paper folded in an origami style. The paper is embedded with chemicals that react with specific disease markers, producing a fluorescent signal. This signal can be detected and recorded using a mobile phone camera, allowing for rapid data collection and analysis.

“This [innovation] will enable an evidence-based decision using wastewater-based epidemiology. It will also accelerate the decision-makers to decide if a school should be closed, or open for example. This is really important during a pandemic, and it could save more people’s lives and prevent economic loss,” Yang told IE .

90-minute disease testing

Yang developed this method as part of the national COVID-19 wastewater surveillance program. During the peak of the pandemic in 2021, he conducted field tests at four quarantine hotels near Heathrow Airport, using the device in the hotel basement with minimal equipment.

The entire process, from sample collection to results, took under 90 minutes—significantly faster than the roughly four hours needed for a PCR test. The results were found to be at least as accurate as PCR tests but at a fraction of the cost, offering an efficient way to provide early warnings of disease spread within communities.

When asked if this test can be easily adapted to track other infectious diseases beyond COVID-19 and the flu, Yang says, “Yes, absolutely. We have also tested other pathogens, such as malaria, tuberculosis, brucella, E.coli, and salmonella. It’s a platform technology that can be used for all nucleic-acid-based pathogen detection.”

About the logistics and scalability of the technology, the lead author told us, “Currently, there are more than 70 countries worldwide that carry out regional, national, and international wastewater surveillance programs, such as the UK, The Netherlands, and the USA.”

“The current analytical method is the PCR method. Our origami paper sensors could be used for scaling up to save time and money for wastewater surveillance.”

“The work is associated with a patent and a spin-out company aiming to scale up this technology and hopes this will help people in both the water and health sectors. This will save many logistical challenges for the current state-of-art, such as avoiding cold-chain to transport samples, and does not need a centralized laboratory and highly trained persons.”

It would be much cheaper and quicker testing for public health management, which will be extremely useful at low-resource settings or remote settings, he concluded.

The study has been published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science .