Application Notes: APD Handwash Android App – A tool for evaluating the effectiveness of handwashing

Handwashing is a basic infection control practice that needs to be performed correctly to be effective. In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its correct practice is emphasized by public health institutions. However, turning a practice into a habit requires acceptance for adoption of the twenty-second proper procedure to which difficulty remains. To promote and convince the average user, we developed the “APD Handwash app” as a home-use demonstration/education tool to the pitfalls and need of proper handwashing practices through the detection of assigned clean or dirty areas on the hand in a quantitative manner to provide a gauge to the effectiveness of washing when used before and after washing.

Application Notes - APD LAMP Diagnostic App: Automated Colorimetric Analysis and Documentation

Amidst rapid diagnostic kits, reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) has emerged as a rapid point-of-care testing (POCT) method during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many POCT kits rely on plate readers or visual classifications, these processes require experienced staff, and with the use of plate readers, the need for peripheral equipment and infrastructure as well. To address the gap and ensure objectivity in colorimetric POCT kits, the Automated Product Determination (APD) LAMP Diagnostic App was developed for automatic colorimetric analysis of single to multiple LAMP samples. Leveraging on the smartphone camera, barcode-based documentation feature, and a colour distance formula, the app algorithm calculates RGB values, labelling samples as “positive” when yellow, “negative” when pink, and “unknown” when orange. The APD Lamp diagnostic app for Android hereby demonstrates the integration of smartphone apps in POCT kits and ways the smartphone revolution changes laboratory processes to be timely and on-the-go.