New Tech brings hope for early diagnosis on World Diabetes Day
Today is world diabetes day, and the latest figures from the IDF remain daunting, with 1 in 10 people living with diabetes and almost half of those being undiagnosed.
Ushering in hope for an improvement of these figures, a next-generation point of care diagnostics company, LumiraDx, today announced the commercial expansion of its HbA1c test, for professional use across multiple care settings. Used alongside the LumiraDx Platform (incorporating a small portable instrument, a microfluidic test strip and digital connectivity to the Cloud and IT hospital systems), the test monitors diabetic patients’ HbA1c levels and can be used as a screening aid in identifying patients who have or may be at risk for developing diabetes.
Providing results in under seven minutes from sample application, the test allows improved efficiency and convenience with on-the-spot diabetes screening and monitoring at the patient’s side. This addresses the ever-growing need for accessible and reliable HbA1c testing in the community healthcare setting, in order to expedite the delivery of necessary clinical care and management.
The LumiraDx HbA1c test has a reportable range of 4.0–14.0% HbA1c; for diabetes diagnosis, a level of 5.7% to 6.4% indicates prediabetes and a level of 6.5% or more indicates diabetes.
The company also offers a broad menu of lab comparable tests on its single portable Platform, with more than 30 assays presently on the market and in the pipeline, covering infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and coagulation disorders.
Founded in 2014 and based in the UK, LumiraDx’s diagnostic testing system is being used globally by governments and leading healthcare institutions across laboratories, urgent care, physician offices, pharmacies, schools, and workplaces to help screen, diagnose, and monitor wellness as well as disease.
Hopefully with the advent of personalised medicine, this system will also be available to patients directly, to further facilitate diagnosis and expedite treatment.