January 9, 2020 | It’s been a big year for the diagnostics industry. Developments have led to a fantastic year of product announcements and thoughtful discussions. As we head into 2020, we at Diagnostics World would like to take a moment and reflect on the groundbreaking achievements from this past year. In that spirit, here are the top 10 stories of 2019, ranked in order of popularity. —The Editors
1. Autism Blood Test Becomes Reality, Others On The Horizon
Autism spectrum disorder could benefit from new and improved diagnostic methods, and the arrival of a newly commercialized blood test—along with other efforts headed toward a similar end goal—could be nudging the field toward earlier detection and intervention. Read more
2. QuantuMDx Tackles Infectious Diseases, High Prices With Molecular Diagnostic Kit
With current technologies in molecular diagnostics being too expensive, time-consuming, and lacking the ability to conduct multiple tests with a single sample, QuantuMDx is pushing its portable molecular diagnostic kit, called Q-POC, that analyzes samples at the point-of-care and provides results within 30 minutes. Read more
3. AI-Driven Diagnostic Hub Reimagines Primary Care
Ativa Medical created buzz at the Next Generation Dx Summit in Washington, D.C. with a presentation about its workhorse point-of-care device being developed expressly for primary care. Read more
4. From Nobel Prize-Worthy To Quaint: PCR’s Past, Present, And Predicted Future
Imagine a future in which polymerase chain reaction is viewed as old-fashioned. In the meantime, researchers generate billions of copies of the sequence of interest in order to carry out experiments and procedures in fields like molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and medical diagnostics. Read more
5. Obtaining Diagnostic Test Reimbursement In The Age Of Evidence
The biggest challenge that most diagnostics companies face in commercializing their tests is getting Medicare and private health insurers to pay for them. With the healthcare industry’s growing focus on improving the quality of healthcare and reducing costs, this struggle has become even more intense in recent years. Read more
6. NIMBLE Could Make Liver Biopsy For Diagnosing NASH Obsolete
A new public-private consortium is collaborating on a project whose chief objective is an FDA-qualified composite biomarker for diagnosing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Read more
7. Color Genomics Improves Genetic Testing Efficiency With Illumina, Slack Partnerships
With recent partnerships with Illumina, cloud-based communication provider Slack, and other organizations, Color Genomics is looking to progress their genetic testing portfolio. Read more
8. Could A Liquid Biopsy & AI Combo Cure Cancer? Some Think It’s Worth Finding Out
As cancer continues to claim lives and ring up cash registers along the way, it’s no wonder scientists continue to search for clever ways to battle back. Liquid biopsies, with a combination of AI, are one approach gaining attention and traction thanks in part to their ability to test patients multiple times in less invasive ways than traditional approaches. Read more
9. New Saliva Glucose Unit Pairs Biosensor, App For Painless Testing
The iQ Group Global introduced the Saliva Glucose Biosensor, the world’s first saliva-based glucose test for diabetes management that measures glucose in saliva rather than blood. Read more
10. New Liquid Biopsy Chip Overcomes Limitations Of Current Devices
Carbon nanotubes have found practical application in everything from aircraft parts to tennis rackets and baseball bats since their discovery in 1991. Now, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have used the wonder material to create a liquid biopsy chip that can snare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of all sizes and types in a stationary drop of blood, and reliably detect more of them than existing microfluidic technologies. Read more