By
Atomo Diagnostics Pty Ltd
i d e
Description
AtomoRapid™ is the world’s first fully integrated rapid test device for blood based lateral flow applications. It replaces the need to use complicated procedural test kits requiring multiple devices. Procedural error rates in current rapid test kits are high (typically between 7 - 15%) and result in millions of people being incorrectly diagnosed for serious diseases each year. AtomoRapid™ significantly reduces the complexity of performing a rapid test, and hence reduces inter-operator variability, error rates and clinical training requirements. The platform recently won several awards at the ‘Australian Engineering Excellence Awards’ including the prestigious Bradfield Award.
Key Features
and/or Benefits
The foolproof device design and controlled step sequencing ensures the correct test sequence and improves accuracy, resulting in improved test performance and a reduction in the incorrect diagnosis of a range of serious infectious diseases, including HIV and Malaria. The correct sequence of procedural steps is assured by engineering a number of interlocks into the design that make the device be used in the correct order. This results in a safer, easier and more accurate test, saving lives by reducing the rate of false negatives when screening for serious diseases like HIV.
AtomoRapid™ was designed with a simple mission in mind – to develop an integrated rapid test device that removes the need for separate multiple devices, making it faster and easier to perform a blood based IVD test anywhere. The AtomoRapid™ design team utilised human factors and usability analysis to develop integrated features to lance, collect and distribute blood to a test in a simple format that can be easily performed by users. The result is a device that is intuitive to use, that improves test accuracy, and that is overwhelmingly preferred to existing test kits.
The AtomoRapid™ design includes a number of safety features as follows: - An integrated contact activated retractable safety lancet that eliminates the risk of needle stick injury to a clinician or patient - An integrated single device - so only one item is generated by the testing procedure requiring clinically safe disposal. The current ‘bits in a box’ formats generate 3-4 separate components that come into contact with a patient blood that all require clinical disposal - Intuitive use and simplicity that provides the opportunity for patient self-testing under clinical supervision, so clinicians do not need to interact with patient.
The AtomoRapid™ BCU component incorporates a number of unique design features to deliver reliable, integrated functionality: - Capillary forces simply and safely collect and distribute blood, wicking blood away from the patient, then releasing it upon contact with the test strip - The air vent prevents air bubbles forming, ensuring an accurate volume is delivered every time - An interlocking feature ensures correct sequence of blood collection and delivery - The BCU collection volume is accurate, and also customisable, making the device compatible with a wide range of diagnostics for detecting diseases/conditions like HIV, Celiac, Malaria and DVT.
A low-cost design is integral to success in low resource markets, such as Africa, where the need to detect serious infectious diseases is greatest. Important savings include: - Leveraging conventional component manufacturing methods/materials - Being compatible with both manual and automated assembly processes - Integrating six individual components into a single device keeping component and labour costs down and provide a 30% reduction in packed volume, reducing waste and logistics costs - Reducing the cost of tests in the field, by making tests easier and more reliable to administer, and lowering the burden on inventory systems in remote clinics.
