Nowadays, a medical test requires a visit to the hospital, the intervention of several highly qualified professionals and a huge laboratory full of expensive, complicated and usually slow equipment. However, we have the possibility to turn these tests into procedures as simple as a pregnancy test, requiring no more than a sheet of paper, thanks to rapid tests and technology. point-of-care (bedside testing near the patient's site of care).
Rapid tests could revolutionise the way we diagnose diseases. According to the WHOThese tests work without the complexity of a testing laboratory, give results in a matter of minutes and are easy to use, so they do not require the intervention of medical professionals. A couple of everyday examples of rapid tests are pregnancy tests (which can be used to test for pregnancy). detect gonadotropina hormone produced after the embryo settles into the uterus) or the glucose meters used by patients with diabetes.
The importance of such rapid, robust and accessible tests has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The detection of SARS-CoV-2 has relied almost exclusively on PCR tests which, although very reliable, take several hours to deliver results and require specialised equipment, highly qualified personnel and the use of expensive reagents. These requirements slow down results and therefore hinder medical decision-making.
A commitment to the development of rapid, inexpensive and easy-to-use tests is a commitment to fairer and more effective healthcare. Rapid tests facilitate equal access to diagnosis and reduce the workload of healthcare workers, and speed up medical care and treatment when needed. Integrated into technologies such as lab-on-a-chipThese tests will be able to detect several analytes (and therefore several diseases) at the same time.
Furthermore, thanks to the connectivity possibilities of these devices, they will become part of the Internet-of-Things and help to develop more personalised medicine, where trips to the hospital become more infrequent and unnecessary. Finally, the latest advances in engineering and microfluidics allow rapid tests to be produced by printing directly on paper, reducing the use of electronic components. These new technologies are likely to lack the connectivity of the lab-on-a-chipThe new technologies are now available on an industrial scale and have transformed the diagnosis of diseases in developing countries.
For future pandemics and for the analysis of the progress of other infectious diseases, rapid tests are the best solution for fast and efficient screening. Being able to design such a tailor-made test will avoid harsh confinements in the future and speed up the return to normality.
