“…It is easily treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed; however, diagnosis can be thwarted by invasive sampling methods which discourage children (and adults) from successfully completing the sampling process and may result in decreased yields . The gold standard method for diagnosing strep throat is a pharyngeal swab coupled with bacterial culture; , however, qPCR has become a new tool that can be implemented in the diagnosis of strep throat, allowing saliva sampling as a means for diagnosis. , Current methods for saliva sampling include spit tubes (e.g., SpeciMAX Stabilized Saliva Collection Kit), drooling (e.g., SalivaBio Saliva Collection Aid), swabs (e.g., Eswab), and cotton rolls (e.g., Salivette, SalivaBio Oral Swab). − In recent years, others have also developed lollipop-inspired devices, such as Self-LolliSponge (with lemon-aromatized cap), and non-conventional sampling devices using absorbing materials, e.g., V-Chek test card and Whistling midstream test. , The CandyCollect device was designed to facilitate easy, non-invasive, at-home sampling of saliva, particularly for children, which is then shipped to a lab for analysis and diagnosis . The device sampling mimics the action of eating a lollipop, featuring a polystyrene stick with an open microfluidic channel for bacterial capture and isomalt candy that functions as a timer to ensure sufficient sampling time.…”