LamdaGen’s LAuRA digital platform is a field deployable rapid immuno-based testing system focused on high-sensitivity detection of infectious disease protein markers. The Point of Care (POC) platform is capable of performing tests for both the acute* phase of the illness when patient has an active infection and is likely to be contagious and the convalescence** phase that maps their immune response progression after the virus has been cleared from the patient bodies.
The company’s plasmonic-based sensing technology provides results in just minutes in nasal swabs, whole blood and other human samples, allowing decisions to be made at the point of use.
The LAuRA system can be integrated into small benchtop, small handheld and laboratory high-throughput systems as it is capable of performing multiplex or multi-panel immunoassay testing.
A high-sensitivity rapid antigen test capable of diagnosing the acute phase of COVID-19 (non-PCR-based) may be an ideal and more economical screen, as it will diagnose the infection early when a person is contagious, but may not be fully symptomatic. LamdaGen is developing this rapid screen for acute COVID-19 on the LAuRA digital platform.
*The acute phase of infection includes the period when a patient is contagious but not necessarily symptomatic. Acute detection relates to direct testing for the virus itself (by PCR), or protein antigens shed by infected cells (by immunoassays). The acute phase last 0-14 days post infection and is followed by a **convalescent phase when antibodies (IgM and IgG) generated by the body’s immune response. Serological tests are used to detect these antibodies when they reach a level measurable qualitatively with existing POC devices.