Lab-on-Card Analysis Platform for Point-of-Care Testing

Clearbridge BioLoc has unveiled the prototype of its flagship product, AssayQuest?, a fully automated, portable analysis platform that can perform complex and cost-effective point-of-care testing from a finger-prick blood sample. It potentially enables clinicians and healthcare workers to conduct professional, laboratory-quality tests at the point-of-care, receiving the results within minutes, enabling well-informed decisions on the spot.
 Clearbridge BioLoc's AssayQuest? system consists of two parts--a disposable Lab-on-Card Test-card and Reader. The Testcard contains numerous blisters that are filled with customizable reagents connected by a microfluidic matrix. Within the Reader, a roller pump mechanism processes the Testcard and ruptures the blisters in an automated, programmable sequence. This delivers the reagents to reaction chambers in a specific and time-controlled manner that allows particularly sophisticated test protocols to be performed while mimicking laboratory test conditions. This robust mechanism allows complicated assays such as ELISA to be performed with no manual intervention. Any test that requires sequential injections can be potentially performed by AssayQuest?, whether biochemical, chemical, or DNA-based. Through AssayQuest?, assays that are normally conducted by trained technicians in laboratories may soon be performed affordably at the point-of-care in a reliable, reproducible manner.
 The AssayQuest? Reader connects to a smartphone that contains a mobile application called AQroid?. This allows smartphones to control the system, capture the result, and analyze it. Healthcare professionals can use AQroid? for generating quantifiable point-of-care testing data, which are used in patient monitoring, diagnosis, and analysis. AQroid? also enables transmission and sharing of test data over 3G cellular networks as well as other wireless options, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS location tagging.
 Clearbridge BioLoc's AssayQuest? system seeks to translate existing clinical tests that are currently performed in central laboratories using highly trained technicians on expensive and bulky equipment into a portable system eliminating delays in receiving results. Advantages of the AssayQuest? system include the following:
  ?  Fully quantitative--The AssayQuest? system is not limited to "Positive/Negative" test results but can provide quantitative data, emulating complex assay procedures normally performed only in professional laboratories.
  ?  Customizable--The AssayQuest? Test-card's blister arrangement, reagent type, and quantities are configured based on the intended assay. It is a flexible platform that can be tailored to suit a variety of assay formats and tests.
  ? Cost-effective and scalable--The innovative roller pump technology eliminates the need for expensive micropumps and micro-valves commonly used in other lab-on-chip systems. This significantly reduces the cost for manufacturing the Reader and the Testcards that can then be manufactured using an automated roll-to-roll process, allowing fast production in large quantities while keeping costs low.
 ? Simplicity--The AssayQuest? system has the potential to make complex point-of-care testing simple. The system is easy to use and requires no manual intervention. The user just needs to place the Test-card into the Reader and the AssayQuest? does the rest.
 ?  Portable and connected--AssayQuest? is a compact, lightweight, rechargeable system that facilitates point-of-care treatment. Each Test-card is the size of a credit card, while the Reader is thAdidas