CRISPR-Based Point-of-Care Tests Push Toward Practical H. pylori Screening
This review traces the evolution of point-of-care testing for Helicobacter pylori, focusing on CRISPR-Cas diagnostic systems and advances in substrate engineering and signal transduction. The authors outline design principles for next-generation platforms aligned with WHO ASSURED criteria, aiming to replace costly endoscopy and lab-based PCR with rapid, affordable alternatives for resource-limited settings.
The original study
Advancing Point-of-Care Testing for
- Authors
- Gao Z, Liu G
- Journal
- ACS sensors
- PMID
- 41854526
Original abstract
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) chronically infects nearly half of the global population and is a major risk factor for gastric cancer. Timely and accurate diagnosis is critical to enable targeted eradication therapy and prevent disease progression. However, current gold-standard methods, such as invasive endoscopy and laboratory-based polymerase chain reaction, are costly, time-consuming, and logistically impractical for large-scale screening, particularly in resource-limited settings. Point-of-care testing (POCT) emerges as a transformative solution, offering rapid, user-friendly, and minimally invasive detection at the point of need. In this review, we systematically trace the evolution of H. pylori POCT, with a focus on revolutionary CRISPR-Cas-based diagnostic systems, cutting-edge advancements in substrate engineering (e.g., paper, polymer, hydrogels) and multi-modal signal transduction (e.g., optical, electrochemical). We further outline key design principles for next-generation POCT platforms that strictly align with the World Health Organization's ASSURED criteria (Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid and Robust, Equipment-free, Deliverable), aiming to accelerate early detection, reduce healthcare disparities, and improve global clinical management of H. pylori infection.