I worked at the Little Devices Lab at MIT during the peak of the Ebola outbreak in 2015. At the time, there were issues with access to diagnostic tests and slow result times for the gold standard diagnostic, PCR.

The lab collaborated with the Gehrke virology lab to develop modular lateral flow diagnostic testing kits. These kits allowed users to perform field diagnostics on an as needed basis with results in 10 minutes.

The Ampli modular lateral flow blocks work much like pregnancy tests. A sample is applied to one block then wicked through the others to provide an easy to interpret two line result, one for the control and one for a positive result. The modularity allows users to assembly tests on an as needed basis and acts as a platform to develop new tests.

My work at the lab for this project focused on optimizing the lateral flow by testing different porosity papers and antibody applications. It was important to control the speed of the sample as it wicked through the blocks to ensure sufficient antibody binding for accurate results.

In addition to testing for hemorrhagic fevers, I worked to develop tests that could be used as teaching examples for elementary school curriculum. Those tests included detecting levels of Vitamin C and Glucose. I also designed and prototyped the kit packaging.