One of the letters in the acronym ASSURED -the guideline for providing diagnostics to LRS -represents ''equipment free.'' We are currently developing a non-instrumented nucleic acid (NINA) platform that requires no detection instrument, no electrical power, no batteries, and no external reagents. We believe this can be achieved by combining isothermal amplification with a novel method for generating the required temperature profile without electrical power in a simple disposable that contains the lyophilized assay reagents. Our first prototype of this platform uses loop-mediated amplification (LAMP) [21] as the model for an isothermal amplification technique and malaria as a model diagnostic target. The amplification protocol requires incubating the reaction mixture at ,65uC for at least 60 minutes. This temperature requirement is sufficiently flexible that small excursions (+/21.5uC) around this target are tolerable. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] LAMP (and several other isothermal techniques) have been shown to far less sensitive to inhibitors than PCR, to the point where direct assay of whole blood and other unpurified specimens is feasible. [18, 19] In those cases, no power or instruments are required for NA purification, as is the case with PCR. In addition, recent advances in protein stabilization make it likely that the reagents can be dried-down in the reaction tubes with sufficient stability to avoid the need for a cold-chain during delivery and storage. Thus, another power consuming ''instrument'' is eliminated. We have not yet attempted to package all of these features and advances into a single prototype device; however, the successful demonstration of electricity-free temperature-controlled heating in a disposable format reported here is an important first step toward the long-term goal.