Шаблон:Short descriptionC-FAST was a device purported to be able to detect infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from a distance, using electromagnetic radiation emanating from the virus' genome. At a press conference in February 2014, Egyptian generals presented the device as a result of decades-long secret military research.
The government of Egypt filed an international patent for the device in 2010.[1] The Guardian wrote about it in February 2013.[2] A report on an international study evaluating C-FAST appeared in 2013 in an online journal published by the predatory publisherWASET. According to this report, the device detected hepatitis C with high specificity and sensitivity.[2] The device was said to compare the received electromagnetic signal from a patient to the ideal signal emitted by a specific part of the HCV RNA genome that had been measured in a laboratory and stored on the device. If those signals agreed, the hand-held device would create a force, pointing the device's antenna towards the patient; if they didn't agree, no force was detected.[2][3]
The device's design and claimed method of action were very similar to those of the bogus bomb detection device ADE 651,[4] and it resembles a divining rod.[5]
Press conference
At the press conference on 24 February 2014, Egyptian major-general Ibrahim Abdel-Atti revealed the device, as well as a similar one ("I-FAST") for the detection of HIV infection. Both were adapted from a bomb detecting device.[6] Another device was announced at the presentation, the "Complete Cure Device" (CCD), which was said to operate similar to a dialysis machine, curing hepatitis C and HIV by removing the viruses from the blood.[6][7]
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who had just been appointed Minister of Defense, attended the presentation, which might have had political significance, especially since Egypt has the highest rate of hepatitis C in the world and Al-Sisi was a candidate (and ultimately successful) in the presidential elections three months later.[7]
Reactions and further developments
Egyptian comedian, news commenter and physician Bassem Youssef mocked the devices on air.[8]
The CCD was planned to be rolled out in Egyptian army hospitals in July 2014, but in that month it was announced that this roll-out had to be delayed to allow for further testing. The claims about the devices were strongly criticised by doctors and scientists.[7][9]
