Source: iStock/Mutlu Kurtbas
Source: iStock/Mutlu Kurtbas

As described by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), point-of-care (POC) instruments combine multiple analytical functions into self-contained, portable devices that can be used by nonspecialists to detect and diagnose disease. They can also enable the selection of optimal therapies through patient screening and monitoring of a patient’s response to a chosen treatment. These devices have attracted public and private funding, as well as considerable investment from large diagnostic companies.

Kalorama Information noted that the emerging area of rapid POC molecular testing attracted over $650 million in investments and financings between 2009 and 2013, alone, while a 2014 Frost and Sullivan report predicted that molecular testing, particularly the overall growth of the global infectious diseases diagnostics market, will approach $12.78 billion in 2018.

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