Key Takeaway:
- A new tongue-swab TB test enables faster, cheaper, and more accurate diagnosis without relying on sputum samples.
- The Portable MiniDock MTB device meets WHO accuracy standards and improves access to testing in low-resource settings.
- Earlier detection could reduce transmission and deaths, though drug-resistant TB still requires additional testing.
A new portable tuberculosis test using tongue swabs instead of phlegm delivers faster, cheaper, and more accurate diagnoses, researchers report, potentially expanding global access to early detection of the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
New Test Redefines Tuberculosis Detection
Since the late nineteenth century, the standard tuberculosis test has relied on phlegm samples, a method experts describe as uncomfortable, slow, and often inaccurate.
Researchers now say a new diagnostic tool, the MiniDock MTB, offers a breakthrough. Developed by the Chinese company Pluslife, the portable device analyzes DNA from tuberculosis bacteria using either phlegm or a simple tongue swab.
The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, show the test meets World Health Organization accuracy targets and can be used in clinics with limited resources.
“It’s cheaper than a microscope,” said Dr. Adithya Cattamanchi, a pulmonologist at the University of California, Irvine, and a lead researcher. The device costs about $300, while each test costs between $3 and $4, making it more affordable for low-income health systems.
Tuberculosis kills more than one million people annually worldwide. Experts say improving access to testing is critical to reducing transmission and ensuring patients receive treatment sooner.
“What we hope it means is that many more people will have access to high-quality TB testing,” Cattamanchi said.
Traditional Testing Delays Diagnosis And Treatment
The conventional microscope-based test requires patients to cough up phlegm, a process many people — especially children, older adults, and severely ill patients- struggle to complete.
Even when samples are collected, the tuberculosis test misses nearly half of actual cases and can sometimes produce false positives.
Alfred Andama, a microbiologist at Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Uganda, said delays in diagnosis remain common across many regions.
“Many people are making three, four, five visits before they finally come to a health center where there is TB testing available,” he said.
Patients are often given temporary treatments for cough or fever before receiving a tuberculosis test, which allows the disease to worsen and spread. Undiagnosed individuals may unknowingly transmit the infection while moving between clinics, Andama explained.
Researchers say the MiniDock MTB could shorten diagnosis times from weeks to hours, allowing earlier treatment and reducing community transmission.
The technology builds on advances made during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global investment accelerated development of rapid swab-based molecular testing.
Experts Praise Innovation But Note Remaining Limits
Global health leaders welcomed the new testing option while emphasizing it is not a complete solution.
Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the United Nations-backed Stop TB Partnership, called the device “an amazing tool,” though she highlighted two limitations.
The test may be less effective at detecting very early infections when bacterial levels remain low. It also cannot distinguish between standard tuberculosis and drug-resistant strains, which still require additional laboratory analysis.
Despite those challenges, experts say earlier detection helps prevent drug resistance by enabling faster treatment.
“To have this low-cost option is really going to help countries scale up,” Cattamanchi said.
Researchers believe wider adoption could mark a turning point after more than 150 years of reliance on microscopy.
“My hope honestly is that we finally get rid of using a microscope,” Cattamanchi said. “And everyone who has TB symptoms is getting a high-quality molecular test.”
Health officials emphasize that wider use of an accessible tuberculosis test could greatly reduce deaths and slow transmission worldwide, marking long-awaited progress in the fight against the disease.
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