Now that we have entered yet another wave of the pandemic, we continue to require creative design solutions to adapt how we live and work. In this series, DIAC collects some of the recent design success stories to share with you.
MicroGEM Sal6830 SARS-Cov-2 Saliva Test
After 2 years and 3 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a need for fast and accurate virus tests at point of need. MicroGEM, a medical technology company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, has developed the first point of care PCR saliva test to be authorized by the FDA for emergency use in the US. Health Canada has also been authorized under Section 7 with the Canadian interim order. The test is a non-invasive test using saliva, takes merely 28 minutes to produce highly accurate results and is designed such that anyone can operate it.
Toronto-based industrial designer Adam Shepperdley and his team at SHEPP Industrial Design worked with the MicroGEM team to design the instrument, testing kit and a mobile work station that offers a truly mobile solution. The work station facilitates the workflow and enables the testing kit to be used without a hard wired electricity source.
As Shepperdley explains, their focus as industrial designers was on the parts of the technology that interface directly with the user. The goal was to improve the human experience both for clinicians who administer the test and for patients. The MicroGEM Sal6830 SARS-Cov-2 Saliva Test is a non-invasive, easy to use and a more comfortable test for children or for adults who are nervous about nasal swab tests. It has been developed for use in doctors' offices, urgent care centers, surgery centers, film sets as well as in pharmacies, schools and large workplaces.
MicroGEM has a mission to democratize molecular diagnostics by bringing high performance testing out of the laboratory and closer to people who require these tests.
