#TechTuesday: Grapheal TestNPass for COVID-19 detection

COVID-19 is an unprecedented health crisis. Current field-testing solutions for the coronavirus don’t connect seamlessly to a reliable and tamperproof digital health pass, nor can they guarantee personal data protection. We need a more trustworthy high-flow solution to validate peoples’ health, given the interconnectedness of global travel, and today’s global economy.

We could accelerate our return to normal life, if we had a screen test that could be used anywhere, by anybody, securely and safely, seamlessly connected to a digital pass.

Our mission is to build a new generation of digital biosensors to remotely diagnose and monitor patients. To do this, we exploit graphene’s uniquely high electrical conductivity to detect biomolecules at a low level, without needing the biomolecular signal to be amplified.

We are introducing Grapheal’s new product, TestNpass: a digital biosensor for the antigenic detection of SARS-CoV-2, coupled to a standalone digital health pass on a free smartphone app.

TestNpass digitises biochemical signals from the virus directly on a chip within 5 minutes from a saliva or nasal swab, using our free smartphone app and contactless near-field (NFC) communication.

TestNpass seamlessly combines a fast digtal COVID-19 test with an autonomous digital health ‘pass.’ The free smartphone app integrates a secure biometric identifier to anonymously identify users on-site. The digital health pass consists of the user’s test result, and their encrypted facial recognition data. Contactless RFID technology, combined with the free app, allow for the health ‘pass’ to be read and interpreted without sharing data over the internet.

TestNpass is easy to implement anywhere, and has no need for dedicated equipment, as it just needs a smartphone or a standard NFC device. It doesn’t need trained medical staff and can be used alone as a self-test. It doesn’t store or share any data, as all information isencrypted into a standalone RFID tag.

We designed TestNpass to empower people with a standalone COVID-19 test, while preserving their data and privacy. It provides organisations with a trustworthy, easy-to-deploy tool to screen large populations for pathogens, and it can support airports and airlines, cruises and ships, gathering places and more, for any venue that needs a tamper-proof COVID-19 testing solution, without storing data.

These new graphene-based digital biosensors will accelerate our return to normality with a simple, efficient solution to screen passengers, spectators, participants, customers and workers, respecting their privacy.