Ideally, all new point of care diagnostics, including diagnostics for infectious diseases, should meet the REASSURED criteria. They should be:
- Real-time connectivity
- Ease of specimen collection
- Affordable by those at risk of infection
- Sensitive with very few false-negatives
- Specific with very few false-positives
- User-friendly tests that are simple to perform and require minimal training
- Rapid, to enable treatment at first visit, and Robust, for example not requiring refrigerated storage
- Equipment-free
- Delivered to those who need it
In addition to this, as testing becomes more widespread in a variety non-hospital settings, data-linkage is crucial to support follow up care and public health efforts.
Read more from Prof Rosanna Peeling on REASSURED diagnostics:
- i-sense news piece - REASSURED diagnostics to strengthen health systems and improve patient outcomes
- Publication in Nature Microbiology