APOC - multiplexed acoustic point of care diagnostic system for STIs

SAW-Dx Ltd is an emerging point-of-care (POC) diagnostic device design and manufacturing company, using proprietary innovations around ultrasonic technologies. This project will further the ambition of SAW-Dx to meet the growing demand for POC diagnostic tests for sexually transmitted infections. Currently the Center for Disease Control estimate >20M new STIs every year, in the US alone. We propose that our Acoustic-Flow technology will form the basis of a rapid nucleic acid test (NAT) for STIs. Once demonstrated, the technology also has potential to reach into other POC diagnostics markets (including e.g. tuberculosis and HCV) in the future. This project will build and validate a prototype (portable reader and disposable cartridge) to drive a diagnostic test to a result, with no user intervention after the sample enters the test device (or “chip”), within 30 min. This will enable the immediate treatment of the patient (currently patients must return to obtain their results after several days – many do not). Our future ambitions will see our platform being adopted into a number of different healthcare markets - as its simplicity lends itself to cross-platform compatibility.