Infectious disease screening device

An infectious disease screening device for rapid detection of an infectious agent present in a sample fluid, the screening device comprising:

• a substrate which is at least partly composed of silicon, the substrate comprising a sonication chamber having a sample inlet and a sample outlet;
• an ultrasonic transducer in ultrasonic communication with the sonication chamber, wherein the ultrasonic transducer generates ultrasonic waves in a frequency range of approximately 2800 kHz to approximately 3200 kHz to lyse cells in the sample fluid within the sonication chamber;
• a controller comprising:
• an AC driver which generates an AC drive signal at a frequency within the frequency range of approximately 2800 kHz to approximately 3200 kHz and outputs the AC drive signal to drive the ultrasonic transducer;
• an extreme rRT-PCR cycler comprising:
• a channel defining a fluid flow path between a channel inlet and a channel outlet, the channel inlet being coupled with the outlet of the reagent chamber to receive at least part of the sample fluid flowing into the channel from the reagent chamber, wherein the channel is formed from a plurality of interconnected turns which provide a plurality of channel sections across the surface of the substrate, wherein each channel section of the plurality of channel sections comprises a first channel portion, a second channel portion and a third channel portion;
• a first heating element proximate each first channel portion;
• a second heating element proximate each second channel portion;
• and
• a third heating element proximate each third channel portion, wherein the controller controls:
• the first heating element to heat the sample fluid flowing along each first channel portion,
• the second heating element to heat the sample fluid flowing along each second channel portion, and
• the third heating element to heat the sample fluid flowing along each third channel portion to perform extreme rRT-PCR on the sample fluid;
• wherein the device further comprises:
• an infectious agent detection apparatus which is in communication with and coupled to the channel outlet, wherein the infectious agent detection apparatus detects a presence of an infectious agent that causes the infectious disease in the sample fluid flowing out of the channel outlet, wherein the infectious agent detection apparatus provides an output which is indicative of whether or not the detection apparatus detects the presence of the infectious agent in the sample fluid.