3STEP: A quick, at-home like test for TB and drug resistance using a swab
Official title: 3STEP: A swab-seal-read assay for tuberculosis and RIF resistance enabled by autonomous extraction technology
Funded at Salus Discovery, LLC · NIH-11365909 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new swab-based test that can be done quickly at point-of-care to detect TB and drug resistance with high sensitivity from easy-to-collect samples.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Salus Discovery, LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 3, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $913,705 |
| NIH project number | 5R44AI179588-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11365909 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals with suspected TB or those at risk of TB infection who can provide an oral swab or urine sample in a point-of-care setting.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without TB or who do not require drug-resistance information may not benefit directly.
What this research studies
This project develops 3STEP, a LAMP-based point-of-care test that uses a simple tongue swab to detect TB bacteria and resistance to drugs within about 30 minutes. It aims to work in community clinics, urgent care, pharmacies, and schools by avoiding invasive samples and complex lab work. The approach emphasizes easy sample collection, stable reagents, and spatial multiplexing to identify multiple drug-resistance markers in one test. If successful, it could enable faster diagnosis and treatment decisions in diverse settings, including low-resource areas.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Patients could get faster, accurate TB results and drug resistance information closer to where they receive care.
How similar studies have gone: Previous TB diagnostics have improved with rapid molecular and LAMP-based approaches, but portable, fully integrated POC tests with drug-resistance detection remain an area of active development.
Where this research is happening
-
Salus Discovery, LLC
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Warrick, Jay Wyatt — Salus Discovery, LLC
- Study coordinator: Warrick, Jay Wyatt
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.