Most of the conversation regarding shifting test volumes of advanced molecular testing toward decentralized locations has focused on whether this type of testing, including next-generation sequencing-based testing, will be housed in large, reference laboratories or whether the testing will be performed in smaller, local laboratories as the price of instruments declines. But emerging technology companies are making the case that advanced testing can be accurately performed even closer to the patient as a point-of-care (POC) test performed in a clinic, doctor’s office, or even in field environments. “There is a push to explore what one can do with a smart phone and consumer electronic devices, but that is not 100 percent aligned with diagnostic market requirements,” says Arjang Hassibi, Ph.D., founder and CEO of InSilixia (Sunnyvale, Calif.), which is developing a POC, highly-multiplexed nucleic acid detection  platform. “The hardware in smart phones is more applicable to measure easy physiological signals, like EKG, but the toolbox is very limited. But there is a need to bring in vitro diagnostic tests, both basic metabolites and more complex, to the POC or near patient settings.” InSilixia was a Distinguished Award winner in the Nokia Sensing XChallenge, in which microdiagnostic systems were highlighted.  The […]