To gauge interest in our device, and investigate what potential users most value in a rapid diagnostic test, a survey of people living in the Philippines and Thailand was conducted. A paper-based detection system holds potential benefits in countries with unsafe drinking water. To gauge interest in such a system in developing countries, we conducted a survey in which 29% of respondents were from The Philippines and 71% were from Thailand¹.

This survey confirmed our notions about the prevalence of infectious diseases and in the problem of unsafe drinking water in these two countries, with 83% of individuals agreeing with both statements^2,3. When asked about assessing drinking water for diseases, 66% said they would want paper test strips⁴.

46% of respondents also said that they would attempt to diagnose themselves if they thought they were infected with a disease. In many cases, this would involve a quick Google search. This suggests that if we did indeed develop a paper-based detection system, it would be frequently used for disease diagnosis.

67% of respondents also stated that they wanted a diagnosis to take a maximum of one day, again indicating the usefulness of a quick paper-based diagnostic system.

However, respondents mentioned a desire for accurate diagnosis, with 96% stressing the importance that tests do not falsely diagnose a disease, implying that a potential paper-based detection system would have to have a high accuracy.

Overall, this survey demonstrates that if our system were to be implemented onto paper, it would be useful not only to people in the United States, but particularly in developing countries where drinking water is not as safe or clean.