Imagine having the power of a medical lab right in the palm of your hand. That’s the idea behind NAPTUNE, a new handheld diagnostic device created by researchers at the National University of Singapore. This tool can quickly find telltale signs of disease—like bits of DNA or proteins—in less than 45 minutes, without any complex lab equipment. It opens the door to faster, cheaper health checks in clinics, rural areas, or even the comfort of home.
NAPTUNE works by using a smart chemical reaction. First, it scans for specific disease clues using a natural human enzyme. Then, it launches a chain reaction that makes special particles glow if the disease marker is present. Everything happens inside a small plastic tube, and results are sent straight to a phone via Bluetooth. Despite weighing less than a cup of coffee, NAPTUNE can detect disease with remarkable sensitivity—on par with the high-tech machines used in hospitals.
The team behind this innovation is already testing it on tuberculosis, and they’re exploring ways it could help detect cancer or viruses in wastewater. What makes NAPTUNE especially exciting is how adaptable it is: future versions might use test strips or plug into small batteries, making it even more accessible worldwide. With tools like this, early detection could become faster, more affordable, and available to nearly everyone.
Article from the National University of Singapore: NAPTUNE: Riding a nuclease wave to field-ready precision diagnostic
Abstract from Nature Communications: NAPTUNE: nucleic acids and protein biomarkers testing via ultra-sensitive nucleases escalation
