Interview – Dr. Reza Esmaillie CEO & Co-Founder Detechgene
Point-of-care tests can improve clinical processes, particularly by making diagnostics accessible to everyone. Diagnostics are most helpful when they are performed quickly.
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The German startup Detechgene has developed a portable PCR test that patients will eventually be able to use at home. For now, however, it's being deployed where rapid diagnosis is essential: in the emergency department.
Interview – Dr. Robin Bayer CTO & Co-Founder Detechgene
Here, it is particularly important that a wide variety of people with a wide range of symptoms can be diagnosed quickly in order to prevent their conditions from worsening later on in the hospitals or wards.
This mobility allows us to decentralize diagnostics. This means we eliminate the diagnostic bottleneck at the hospital and enable every single employee at a hospital to perform this test whenever and wherever they want.
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The PCR Kit To Go consists of three components: a cartridge, a pen with an integrated cleaning unit, and a heating unit. The cartridge enables pathogen detection and provides a visual result in just 20 minutes—similar to a rapid test. The pen prepares samples such as blood, saliva, or urine. The heating unit maintains a constant temperature, ensuring optimal reaction conditions regardless of the environment.
The test is based on nucleic acid.
Interview – Dr. Robin Bayer CTO & Co-Founder Detechgene
What's interesting about our test is that we've developed a test platform. This means that the test concept essentially always remains the same. The only thing that changes are the pathogen-specific sequences in our test. This enables us to develop a new test for a known pathogen within a very short time—say, two weeks.
Interview – Dr. Robin Bayer CTO & Co-Founder Detechgene
Particularly in the near future, it will be interesting to be able to track antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals and healthcare systems. The mobile app will make it possible to do this on a large scale. Furthermore, it's also incredibly interesting that our testing method allows us to detect point mutations, which in turn opens up a completely new field of research.
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The PCR test should be easy for everyone to use from the very beginning – especially at home. The founders estimate that consumers will be able to use the test kit in just two years.
Interview – Dr. Reza Esmaillie CEO & Co-Founder Detechgene
If someone at home gets sick, they usually have certain symptoms, so they can basically get the appropriate test kit, which can be used for those specific symptoms. And while they're waiting for the test results, there are instructions on how to proceed.
And that essentially serves as a basis for the doctor to make a diagnosis. In the future, telemedicine can, of course, also be incorporated.
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Decentralizing diagnostic services is just one way to relieve pressure on the healthcare system. There are additional benefits within the hospital:
Interview – Dr. Reza Esmaillie CEO & Co-Founder Detechgene
So, first of all, it ensures that the right medication is administered to the patient quickly. The best example: Especially when we can quickly distinguish between viral and bacterial pathogens—and decide whether or not to prescribe antibiotics—we simply reduce antibiotic resistance and the spread of germs that might otherwise emerge. On the other hand, we lower the hospital's overall costs; when patients receive the correct medication, their hospital stay is simply shorter.
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Next, the startup is awaiting certification of the mobile PCR test. Once this milestone is achieved, the test can enter the medical market.
