Physics / mechanism
Point-of-care diagnostics (POC) moves clinical measurement from centralised lab to patient proximity — bedside, pharmacy, field. Core detection modalities: electrochemical (amperometric/potentiometric), optical (fluorescence, surface plasmon resonance, colorimetric), and acoustic (BAW/FBAR). Lateral-flow assays dominate volume (qualitative, ~10–30 min, LOD ~1–10 ng/mL). Higher-performance platforms use microfluidic chips integrating sample prep, amplification (isothermal LAMP/RPA), and detection — achieving PCR-comparable sensitivity (LOD sub-fM) in <20 min. FBAR biosensors now reach sub-pg/mL sensitivity with label-free operation. Key parameters: limit of detection, specificity, time-to-result, COGS per test, and regulatory pathway (CLIA waiver in the US being the commercial gate).
Competitive landscape
Centralised lab (Roche, Abbott, Siemens Healthineers) competes on throughput and multiplexing but loses on turnaround and decentralisation. Wearable continuous biosensing (CGM, sweat patches) is adjacent but targets chronic monitoring rather than acute diagnostics. Digital PCR offers higher precision but remains lab-bound. Main POC platform competition:
Companies using
Connected ideas
Sources
Frontier (open questions)
- To be added.