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Award-winning industrial design and innovation studio Morrama has created ECO-FLO, a concept test forCovid-19 designed to improve accessibility by eliminating the need for a nasal swab. Developed with the agency’s approach to sustainability and user experience in mind, the concept uses sustainable materials that can easily break down within 4 to 6 weeks. 

“Plastic has been at the front line of the pandemic - face masks, lateral flow tests and sanitizer bottles” Morrama's founder and creative directorJo Barnard said.“With new COVID-19 variants constantly evolving, active testing has been and will remain to be an important part of living with COVID-19. At Morrama, we were inspired to create a test kit that doesn’t contribute to the amount of plastic ending up in our landfills, so ECO-FLO was born.” 

The two mainstream methods of COVID-19 testing on the market are lateral flow and PCR tests - both of which involve a nasal swab. The use of a nasal swab is an invasive test method that requires accuracy in order to insert the nasal swab correctly and can be a challenge to those with disabilities, impairments or when testing children.  The newly created concept ECO-FLO test incorporates new developments in saliva testing. Designed with the Parallel Amplified Saliva rapid POint-of-caRe Test (PASPORT) method, it allows saliva samples to be collected and used within the test kit without the requirement for a buffer solution.  

The test kit has been simplified down to four parts (test kit, test strip, absorbent pad and a sachet), which removes the need for multiple pieces of single-use plastic including the outer package of the test, swab and test tubes. ECO-FLO uses a recyclable paper pulp for the packaging and a biodegradable Nature Flex film for the sachet meaning that it can break down within approximately 4-6 weeks.  

How does ECO-FLO work? 
Eased user navigation: With step by step instructions printed directly onto the test, the user is guided on how to use it without the need for a separate leaflet. Additional details can be provided through a QR code if required.  
Activation of the test:An incorporated pushbutton functionality signals the start of the 15-minute countdown until the results are ready. The button function also ensures all the saliva sample is transferred onto the absorbent pad part of the test strip. 
Reading the results: By removing the scientific notations of using S for Sample, T for Test and C for Control,ECO-FLO presents the results in a comparable tick box style that is clearer to understand without having to refer to an instruction booklet. 

Andy Trewin Hutt, Associate Director at Morrama added: “Existing lateral flow tests were a reaction to the threat of the pandemic and were rolled at-speed to enable at-home testing. As a result, there were almost no considerations about the ease of use and the impact on the environment in either the production or disposal process. Now we have an opportunity to correct these mistakes.  

We have developedECO-FLO to highlight the need for a more sustainable design. Projecting forward to future pandemics, ECO-FLO could offer a simpler, more accessible and more sustainable option to aid in keeping people safe through instantaneous mass testing, designed with people and the planet in mind.” 

Morrama envisions the product being made available for testing via the NHS and purchasing from pharmacies.