The Evolution of Molecular Diagnostics
Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it’s likely that most of us have heard of molecular diagnostics or molecular tests. Maybe you saw the 2020 press conference in the White House Rose Garden, where the U.S. President stood next to a point-of-care molecular instrument and talked about its impact on diagnosing respiratory illnesses. Perhaps your doctor discussed the technology with you during a sick visit. However you heard about it, it’s safe to assume that most of us know the term. But did you know it’s been around for decades? Do you know that it’s evolved from a process that once required seven different clean rooms and days of testing into a diagnostic process that can happen in the palm of your hand within half an hour? From coining the term “molecular disease” in 1949 to the first application of multiplex PCR testing in 1989 (1), molecular diagnostics has come a long way.
In speaking with Steve Cox, Principal Product Manager at SEKISUI Diagnostics, LLC, this writer learned about The Metrix® molecular platform and the impact it can have on patient care for our customers.
Q: What is Metrix®? How does it work?
A: It’s a point-of-care molecular diagnostics system that utilizes isothermal technology to amplify DNA in a patient sample to detect pathogens, which can cause illness. It offers an EUA approved COVID-19 test, with more tests for other infectious diseases coming in the future.
Q: What is it meant to do for care providers?
A: It’s a handheld instrument that is designed to be closer to the patient than many other point-of-care molecular diagnostics systems. It’s extremely small. Today, it can give an accurate result for a COVID-19 test in ~30 minutes.
Q: What sets Metrix® apart from the other point-of-care molecular diagnostic systems in-market today?
A: It’s handheld, which means it has a smaller footprint (takes up less space) for care providers. It is very good performance, in terms of sensitivity and specificity. It’s easy to use.
Q: How easy is it to use?
A: It has very minimal hands-on sample prep time. We call it the Three 3 Rule. You swab, snap off the tip of the swab, shake it up, and then insert into the instrument for testing. Simple.
Q: How do care providers benefit from using Metrix®?
A: The run-time is pretty good. They’ll get an accurate answer within a reasonable amount of time. For customers who aren’t running a high-volume of molecular testing every day it’s a great solution. It’s also great for mobile health clinics, because it doesn’t require a lot of calibration. This means that customers won’t be burdened by expensive, monthly QC bulk orders.
Q: That’s great! QC can get costly and calibration can mean a lot of downtime for the instrument.
A: Exactly! SEKISUI Diagnostics also stocks external QC for Metrix® in our San Diego warehouse.
Q: Why is SEKISUI Diagnostics excited about Metrix®?
A: It’s a great addition to our point-of-care portfolio. We want to make testing accessible for all providers and patients, and this is a great option for doing that. The additional tests that are coming, hopefully soon, will also make it a more versatile platforms for customers with addressing multiple commonly occurring infectious diseases.
Click here to learn more about Metrix® Molecular Diagnostic System.