Innovative Platform to Address Need for Fast and Accurate POC Testing for Infectious Diseases

Emerging infectious diseases account for over a billion cases of illness each year and are a major cause of death globally. Vector-borne diseases like mosquitoes are especially dangerous, putting over half of the world's population at risk, as per the World Health Organization. Accurate diagnosis is critical for the effective management of infectious diseases, but traditional lab tests often come with drawbacks like high costs, complexity, slow development, and limited global availability. To tackle these issues, a new open point-of-care (POC) platform aims to provide quick and accurate POC testing for emerging and neglected infectious diseases.

Kephera Diagnostics’ (Framingham, MA, USA) MiCRIA Open POC platform aims to fulfill the need for rapid POC testing on a global scale. The platform uses easily produced reagents, allowing for universal accessibility of precise, two-minute POC tests, even in areas lacking resources. Unlike other tests that require disease-specific strips or cartridges, this patent-pending system employs a generic cassette and assay-specific reagents. Furthermore, the assay is based on microfluidic technology rather than membrane-based methods.

The test-specific reagent is derived by an antibody, antigen, or other ligand, and can be quickly mass-produced using standard laboratory equipment. The platform features a compact and economical reader that can be managed through a smartphone or another mobile device to conduct tests as well as interpret and display results. Kephera's MiCRIA Open POC platform has shown to have better sensitivity compared to lateral flow rapid tests and is almost as effective as ELISA tests.

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