Table 1.

ASSURED-SQVM principles as applied to current diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases

Criteria	Detection methods
	Direct detection of virus			Detection of antibodies	Detection of inflammatory biomarkers
	Culture	Nucleic Acid	Antigen capture
Affordable	No, requires laboratory setting, trained personnel	No. Instrument, consumables are expensive	Yes	Yes	Requires a clinical laboratory to perform the tests for multiple biomarkers
Sensitive	Very high	High	Depends on the QC of the antibodies and manufacturer	Depends on the QC of the antibodies and manufacturer	Depends on the QC of the antibodies and manufacturer
Selective	Very high	Very high, but requires the right primers	Depends on the QC of the antibodies and manufacturer	Depends on the QC of the antibodies and manufacturer	Depends on the QC of the antibodies and manufacturer
Rapid	No, requires days.	Tabletop instruments provide results in ≤ 15 min	Lateral flow tests will provide results in ≤ 15 min.	Lateral flow tests will provide results in ≤ 15 min.	Blood tests take 24–28 hours
Robust	No, reagents require refrigeration.	Yes/No, some reagents may require refrigeration	No, depends on antibody stability. May require refrigeration	No, depends on antibody stability. May require refrigeration	No, reagents require refrigeration
User-friendly	No, requires trained personnel	Only the new integrated systems are user friendly.	Yes	Yes	No, requires trained personnel
Equipment free	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Deliverable to end users	No, requires laboratory	No, requires space, electricity	Yes, small footprint, portable	Yes, small footprint, portable	No, requires laboratory
Self-testing	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Quantitative	Yes, but takes days	Tabletop systems provide yes/no answer;	No	No	Yes, but takes hours/days
Viability	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A
Multiplexing	Yes, but requires equipment	Capability exists, but is expensive	Yes, but becomes more expensive	Yes, but becomes more expensive	Yes, but requires equipment