A portable lateral test reader apparatus includes a processing arrangement, a digital camera, a user interface. The digital camera captures at least one image of locations of at least one test line, at least one control line and at least one reference of a test structure. The processing arrangement measures an intensity associated with the at least one test line, an intensity associated with the at least control line and an intensity of the at least one reference in the at least one image, forms a test result as a function of measured intensities associated with the at least on test line, the at least control line and the at least one reference, and outputs the test result using the user interface.