Optical imaging spectroscopy for rapid, primary screening of SARS-CoV-2: a proof of concept

Abstract

Effective testing is essential to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission. Here we report a-proof-of-concept study on hyperspectral image analysis in the visible and near-infrared range for primary screening at the point-of-care of SARS-CoV-2. We apply spectral feature descriptors, partial least square-discriminant analysis, and artificial intelligence to extract information from optical diffuse reflectance measurements from 5 µL fluid samples at pixel, droplet, and patient levels. We discern preparations of engineered lentiviral particles pseudotyped with the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 from those with the G protein of the vesicular stomatitis virus in saline solution and artificial saliva. We report a quantitative analysis of 72 samples of nasopharyngeal exudate in a range of SARS-CoV-2 viral loads, and a descriptive study of another 32 fresh human saliva samples. Sensitivity for classification of exudates was 100% with peak specificity of 87.5% for discernment from PCR-negative but symptomatic cases. Proposed technology is reagent-free, fast, and scalable, and could substantially reduce the number of molecular tests currently required for COVID-19 mass screening strategies even in resource-limited settings.

A Framework for Biosensors Assisted by Multiphoton Effects and Machine Learning

“…Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks in several communities have compelled governments worldwide to enact stringent controls such as blockades, border closures, and widespread screening [ 43 ]. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is compatible with the coronavirus family with single-stranded gene RNA and surface proteins such as membranes, envelopes, nucleocapsids, and spikes [ 44 ].…”

Augmentation of literature review of COVID-19 radiology

“…Gomez-Gonzalez et al [ 38 ] reported a proof of concept of optical imaging spectroscopy for rapid, primary screening of SARS-CoV-2. A study by Shah et al [ 39 ] found that home pulse oximetry monitoring identified the need for hospitalization in initially non-severe COVID-19 patients when a cutoff SpO 2 of 92% was used and that home SpO 2 monitoring also reduced unnecessary emergency department revisits.…”

Polarimetric imaging for the detection of synthetic models of SARS-CoV-2: A proof of concept

“…They range from the detection of the Zika virus in mosquitoes fed with infected human blood using infra-red spectroscopy [29] to the detection of hepatitis B and C viruses [30] and Dengue [31] in human samples using Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy. Most recent efforts aim to detect SARS-CoV-2 models [32] and the SARS-CoV-2 virus [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] .…”

“…Several quantitative descriptors based on the measured polarimetric features are defined, calculated at the per-pixel level and later integrated at the per-sample level. This is the same procedure employed by authors for the analysis of hyperspectral images of the same type of samples which allowed for detecting and characterizing those ones with viral content in similar concentrations [ 32 , 34 ].…”