Madeleine Johnson

The assay was shown to have a simpler workflow and was able to detect mosaicism, with only a slight decrease in sensitivity compared to a lab-developed test.

A proof-of-concept version of the method takes less than eight hours to perform ID-AST directly from whole blood. 

The San Diego-based firm's diagnostic system uses spatial thermal cycling and a proprietary liquid metal bath for temperature control for five-minute multiplexed PCR assays.

The portable, battery-operated system will be an interim solution for decentralized testing in places where power may be unreliable.