A portable tuberculosis test using simple swabs has shown high diagnostic accuracy across multiple countries in a large cross-sectional study. The MiniDock MTB met World Health Organization (WHO) performance targets, achieving at least 85% sensitivity for sputum samples and 75% for non-sputum samples, with specificity exceeding 97.5% for both sample types.
The study, led by Yerlikaya and colleagues, enrolled 1,380 participants in India, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. The device delivered results in minutes and scored a median usability rating of 75 out of 100, indicating good ease of use in clinical settings.
Tuberculosis remains a leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide. The MiniDock MTB, developed by Guangzhou Pluslife Biotech, uses a battery-operated molecular testing platform with a simple swab, expanding access in settings where sputum collection is difficult or lab infrastructure is limited.
Sensitivity for tongue swabs was 79.6%, substantially higher than smear microscopy. The authors say the test could improve detection in decentralised healthcare settings and call for further evaluation in patients with low bacterial load and for drug-resistant TB detection.