The Evolution Of COVID-19 Rapid Tests Paves The Way For At-Home Lab Tests

In January of this year, oblivious of the fact that we were about to engage in a twisted round of real-life Jumanji, we released our annual digital health trends e-book. Among one of our 12 forecasts for 2020 was that at-home blood tests would gain traction and become the new direct-to-consumer DNA testing in terms of adoption and availability. While the pandemic threw everyone off guard and messed up regular forecasts, we might have been onto something with our predicted trend. With the need to limit physical contact and trace COVID-positive individuals rapidly, public health authorities worldwide are finding rapid, point-of-care (POC) tests for the novel coronavirus increasingly attractive. Whether it’s for testing antibodies or antigens, regulatory authorities are issuing approvals for such kits so as to boost testing capacities without the need of neither specialised equipment nor a lab.  Approvals are limited to kits for use by healthcare workers for now; but several companies are working on at-home rapid tests, and could soon follow suit in gaining approvals. Indeed, this adoption will not remain confined to COVID-19 tests either; rather, it will also extend to at-home lab tests for a quick analysis for general checkups and other ailments, despite previous setbacks.  While the pandemic boosted the adoption of rapid tests, this adoption was not immediate. From accuracy issues to uncertainties about the virus itself, rapid coronavirus tests have evolv...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Future of Medicine Future of Pharma Healthcare Design Healthcare Policy fda testing outbreak covid19 at-home tests WHO point-of-care POC antibodies virus nasal swab test PCR Abbot Source Type: blogs