Ebola can be suspected in less than 15 minutes thanks to a new device that French scientists have created.

A new device similar to a simple pregnancy home-test could allow doctors to diagnose a patient with suspected Ebola in less than 15 minutes, the French scientists who developed it said. Trials at a high-security lab have validated the technique and prototype kits should be available in Ebola-hit countries by the end of October for a clinical trial, France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) said in a statement, obtained by NPR.

The diagnostic tool has not yet approved by regulators. It works by monoclonal antibodies reacting to the presence of virus in a tiny sample, which can be a drop of blood, plasma or urine, it said.

A European pharma company Vedalab is turning it into a user-friendly kit called Ebola eZYSCREEN. Similar to a DIY pregnancy test, a positive result sees a small stripe showing up in a results window on the hand-held device. The kit is simple to use in the field without any additional equipment, said the CEA, which also does non-nuclear research with a possible military or security application.

"It can give a result in less than 15 minutes for anyone showing symptoms of the disease," it said.

"Current tests, which are based on genetic detection of the virus, are highly sensitive but need special equipment, take between two and a quarter and two and a half hours and can only be carried out in a lab," the CEA explained.

Other pharmaceutical teams are also working on fast diagnostic tools for Ebola. They include Primer design, a spinoff company of Britain's University of Southampton, and Corgenix Medical Corp of the US