Validation of Texture Changing Coatings for Use in At-Home Rapid Tests

Current at-home COVID tests are not accessible to people with low vision or blindness. To interpret results, people with low vision or blindness may need a sighted assistant, an internet-based image recognition tool, or some other sort of powered implement. Instead of adapting to technologies developed for sighted people, investigators propose a new platform which provides a no-power tactile readout, i.e., a texture change, to interpret test results. Although COVID antigens are at relatively low concentrations in human saliva, by relying on surface chemistry effects, a relatively small amount of sample can be designed to cause a significant texture change. This project will develop a new class of antibody-conjugated polymers which, in a saliva sample, bind to COVID antigen. In conjunction, investigators will also develop a test surface designed to maximize tactile feedback upon antigen binding. Upon binding to the test surface, a COVID positive surface will feel distinctive from the negative control, like distinguishing between plastic and glass. To optimize polymer design and test surface design, investigators use a combination of materials characterization, mechanical testing, human testing, and computational techniques. The project culminates by having low vision or blind users test the device with synthetic saliva solutions containing COVID antigen, present as innocuous protein isolates. Subjects will receive synthetic saliva with and without COVID antigen, and using our platform, will be asked to determine if the synthetic saliva did contain the COVID antigen. As a platform, the technology is not limited to COVID, but could be adapted to either new variants or other use cases, such as pregnancy tests. Investigators expertise combines accessibility experts, synthetic chemists, human psychophysics, computational simulations, surface science, and mechanics. To maximize project success, the project includes people with visual impairments at all stages to ensure practicality.