Newcastle medical technology firm QuantuMDx has launched an updated portable testing system that can detect Covid, ahead of likely winter pressure on health services.
The company, which last year secured £15m venture capital investment, has revealed its latest Q-POC respiratory panel test which can detect other infectious diseases.
QauntuMDx's team has developed the new test to include the most up-to-date information on sequences of SARS-CoV-2, Flu A, Flu B & RSV viruses. Respiratory panel tests detect pathogens in the lungs, nose, and throat.
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Jonathan O’Halloran, chief executive officer of QuantuMDx, said: “The recent Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for rapid high quality PCR panels to accurately diagnose infectious diseases and so I am pleased to announce the launch of this new QuantuMDx PCR respiratory panel today.
“The panel, which can detect SARS-CoV-2, Flu A, Flu B and RSV at the point of need, is capable of returning accurate test results in 35 minutes.
"The system offers a simple 'one sample, one test' process, run on the portable Q-POC platform, which can be operated by any healthcare professional after basic training, differentiating it from many competitor models on the market.
“With the coming winter likely to bring parallel pressure from these viruses, on-demand rapid accurate PCR testing offered by this new assay on the Q-POC platform has the potential to provide clinicians with an optimum solution for respiratory infection control.
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“At QuantuMDx, we are committed to making transformative, quality rapid diagnosis accessible to everyone, so that diseases can be detected and treated earlier. The launch of this new assay is an exemplar of our strategy to create multiplex, rapid syndromic panel tests, at the point of need and is credit to the incredible team at QuantuMDx. I look forward to continuing to work with them as we continue to add to our menu of tests for Q-POC and deliver some truly disruptive multiplex tests for the point of need in minutes.”
In 2020 QuantuMDx announced it was embarking on an £11m global scale-up plan which included investing in mass manufacture of its Q-POC device - the handheld system that aims to provide diagnoses for a range of illnesses, particularly in poorer countries where there is limited access to hospitals and laboratories.