Development of a Fluorescent Rapid Test Sensing System for Influenza Virus

Abstract

This paper presents a sensitive and stable fluorescence rapid test sensing system for the quantitative analysis of influenza rapid test results, integrating a detection reader to minimize errors from conventional visual interpretation. The hardware includes a control board, touchscreen, camera module, UV LED illumination, and a dark chamber, while the software handles camera and light source control, as well as image processing. Validation shows strong linearity, high precision, and reproducibility. For influenza A (H1N1), the system achieved a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.9782 (25-200 ng/mL) and 0.9865 (1-10 ng/mL); for influenza B (Yamagata), the coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.9762 (2-10 ng/mL). The coefficient of variation ranged from 1-5% for influenza A and 4-9% for influenza B. Detection limits were 4 ng/mL for influenza A and 6 ng/mL for influenza B. These results confirm the system's capability for accurate quantitative analysis while reducing reliance on subjective interpretation. Its compact, portable design supports on-site rapid testing and allows for potential expansion to detect other targets, such as COVID-19, RSV, and myocardial enzymes. The system's scalability makes it a promising tool for clinical diagnostics, point-of-care testing (POCT), and infectious disease monitoring.

Keywords: fluorescence immunoassay (FIA); image processing; influenza detection; optical detection; rapid test detection; sensing system.

Figure 1

Fluorescence strip introduction. (a) Schematic diagram of the fluorescence strip structure. (b) Fluorescence signal development in the strip. (c) Physical representation of the fluorescence strip.

Figure 2

Hardware architecture of the detection reader.

Figure 3

Image processing workflow for fluorescence strip.

Figure 4

Physical appearance of the fluorescence rapid test detection reader.

Figure 5

Experiment on UV LED control using the light source adjustment module. (a) Captured images of the strip at different voltages. (b) Grayscale data corresponding to voltage variations.

Figure 6

Relationship between influenza A (H1N1) concentration and T/C ratio over the 25–200 ng/mL range.

Figure 7

Relationship between influenza A (H1N1) concentration and T/C ratio over the 1–10 ng/mL range.

Figure 8

Relationship between influenza B (Yamagata) concentration and T/C ratio over the 2–10 ng/mL range.

Figure 9

Comparison with commercial device. (a) Physical appearance of commercial device. (b) Comparison of data between the equipment developed in this paper and commercial device.