Sample Collection
Medical staff insert a swab through the patient’s nostrils a few seconds to absorb the airborne particles between the nose and the throat. The sample is then taken to a medical center certified to perform PCR diagnosis.
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What we do
ViroDet is an initiative backed by a group of young scientists and entrepreneurs united to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico and Latin America. Together, we are working on the development of accessible, open-source diagnostic kits made from mexican resources, with the goal of performing low-cost PCR tests to detect SARS-CoV-2.
How PCR Works
Sample Preparation
Medical staff add our reaction mix to the sample in a tube. These chemicals allow PCR machines to make copies of only the virus’ genetic material.
PCR & Results
A PCR machine operator puts the tubes inside the machine and sets it to run through temperature cycles and record the amount of copies of the virus’ genetic material. If this number did not increase with each cycle, you are diagnosed COVID-19 negative.
Expected Results
ViroDet will implement strategies that allow low and middle income countries to better monitor the spread of the virus. This way companies and governments will have the tools to make better informed decisions and avoid public and private hospitals from reaching their maximum capacity.
Progress
We established critical work areas to be able to launch our kits to the community. We are working on validating our enzymes to get approval from Mexican regulatory authorities for clinical laboratory use.
We'll be sharing our progress and technical documentation regularly in this page.
How can I help?
As a Volunteer
If you are interested in collaborating with our team, you can register in our form and we'll contact you about the work teams.
- Marketing
- Design
- Science communication
- Legal and regulatory
Donating
With your donation we will be able to continue working in developing our kits and equipment for PCR COVID-19 testing. Help us achieve our mission of offering more people an affordable diagnostic method.
Become our Ally
Do you have a laboratory or a similar project? We are looking for allies who would like to test our kits, document and share results.
Media & Press
ViroDet Mentioned in San Pedro Mayor Miguel Treviño’s Daily Conference Video
During Miguel Treviño’s daily conference, he talked about the most efficient way of fighting the pandemic and mentioned that the most appropriate strategy involves making diagnostic tests. A high average of negative tests required before getting a positive result indicates a better control of the pandemic. After that, the mayor introduced the ViroDet initiative and emphasized the need for more initiatives like this one.
See more...MY World México Talks About the ViroDet Initiative Weeks Before ODS Week
MY World México is an initiative established in 2014 by the Action Campaign for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The purpose of this project is to mobilize and to actively involve people and organizations in all sectors in favor of implementing, monitoring, financing, tracking, socializing, and evaluating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs in Mexico. Furthermore, they published an article about ViroDet, an initiative that seeks to develop accessible diagnostic kits and equipment for everyone, fighting for the health and wellness SDGs.
See more...First Live Panel with the ViroDet Team
The ViroDet team talked about the initiative in an interactive format where the audience learned more about the team’s progress and topics like biologics in Mexico. The panel was broadcasted via Facebook and is now available in ViroDet’s media.
See more...Our Allies
Gallery
Special Thanks
We thank the priceless active efforts of Scintia, Nitrocel, NutriYé and all the ViroDet team. We also thank Genobank for their great support since the beginning of this initiative. We strongly appreciate the valuable contributions of Melina Goytortua in designing of the brand; Natalia Parra for her voice acting; Roberto Plancarte for his help with back-end web development; and Victor Gracia for creating the official video. Last but not least, we thank Rolando Garza Cantú and Ensambles y Acabados de Superficie SA de CV for their donations.