University of Washington
According to a recent New Atlas article, researchers at the University of Washington have tackled the uncomfortable and invasive process of collecting saliva for diagnostic purposes. The solution: the novel and enjoyable CandyCollect lollipop. Saliva collection is an important method of detecting various pathogens, including those responsible for strep throat, and it's less invasive than throat swabs. However, the act of manually collecting sufficient saliva can be unpleasant. With this in mind, researchers designed the CandyCollect, a special lollipop with grooves that passively collect saliva as it's consumed, with bacteria adhering to the grooves for later analysis.
