--- title: "Machine Detects COVID-19 in 90 Minutes" description: "A small UK-based DNA-testing company called DnaNudge has come up with a toaster-sized machine that can detect COVID-19 in just 90 minutes." date: "2020-08-07" modified: "2020-08-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/machine-covid-90-minutes" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" --- # Machine Detects COVID-19 in 90 Minutes ![A small UK-based DNA-testing company called DnaNudge has come up with a toaster-sized machine that can detect COVID-19 in just 90 minutes.]() *\Image: DnaNudge\* A small UK-based DNA testing company called DnaNudge has come up with a toaster-sized machine that can detect COVID-19 in just 90 minutes, [*Bloomberg* reports](), no lab analysis needed. The UK's National Health Service has already ordered 5,000 of the machines, as well as cartridges to start testing coronavirus patients, as part of a $211 million contract. The machine was originally designed to help people tailor their diet based on their heredity, according to *Bloomberg*. But founder Christofer Toumazou, a professor at Imperial College London, made a U-turn in light of the growing pandemic. "My dream has been to bring testing like this to the consumer," Toumazou told *Bloomberg*. "A test that can demystify and simplify that quickly — rather than leaving people in doubt — is going to be very useful." All the machine needs is a nose swab or some saliva to detect traces of the coronavirus. It can even detect other diseases such as the flu and a common virus infection called Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). It will also notify the user if a proper sample has been taken or if a test needs to be retaken. *Bloomberg* didn't address the accuracy of the machine, which DnaNudge says could prove helpful in triaging potential COVID patients. "If you have someone coming in and you’re not sure if they have COVID, you can make a decision about where they should go," Graham Cooke, a professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, told *Bloomberg*. "You don’t want to put the wrong person in the wrong place." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()