ellume.lab

Infectious disease diagnosis can often take up to 72 hours, with samples being sent away to labs, while an infected patient could continue to spread disease in the community while they await diagnosis and treatment. Traditional rapid tests provide results by forming coloured lines visible by eye. Although well established, this technology is of low accuracy and has the potential for mis-diagnosis due to human error. Ellume’s goal was to minimise the spread of infectious diseases and reduce the pressure on healthcare systems, by providing a connected, accurate and rapid Point-of-Care diagnostic solution.

At the core of Ellume’s technology is ‘Quantum Dots’, semiconductor nanocrystals which bind with viral proteins in test samples. When excited by specific light, they emit fluorescent signals which are read by a photodetector. Signals are processed to determine a diagnosis, which is digitally displayed. The solution minimises error and provides increased accuracy, allowing for decentralisation of diagnostic testing. The platform supports the development of diagnostic test for many diseases, cutting delivery of diagnosis from days to minutes. The handheld Reader is fully connected, uploading results to medical records and putting useful digital tools in the hands of health practitioners.

The human-centred design of the ellume.lab Nasal Sampler, has addressed usability concerns allowing samples to be collected by healthcare workers. A simple inner nostril sampling technique was developed eliminating the need for Nasopharyngeal swabbing (an unpleasant/invasive sampling technique). The ellume.lab Dropper is designed to ensures the correct mixing and application of samples. The handheld diagnostic Reader provides the healthcare worker with clear, digital results. With connectivity to networks, it gives the ability to transmit results from Point-of-Care to centralised patient records enabling expansion of disease monitoring and epidemiological efforts by healthcare authorities, including planning and allocating resources for pandemic responses.

Typically, diagnostic equipment is expensive and complex, functioning for only one specific disease and requiring extensive training, maintenance and calibration. This means that testing is taking it out of the hands of health practitioners and performed only by specifically trained technicians at specialised pathology clinics. The portability of the ellume.lab, enables the device to move with healthcare workers ensuring it is available whenever needed. All information stored on the system is encrypted and data transmission protocols are industry standard. It provides unique logins for individual users enabling the device to be shared by multiple healthcare practitioners. ellume.lab supports the use of two separate eSticks, so different tests eg: Flu A+B and Group A Streptococcus (GAS) can run simultaneously during a consultation. The device provides the healthcare worker with specific step by step instructions for use for each test. A diagnosis status is displayed throughout the test and the results are clearly shown on the display, minimising errors and mis-diagnosis. The digitally versatility of the solution provides multiple functions beyond diagnostics, these include secure clinical photography, drug dose calculation, weight/ height growth calculators, BMI calculators, links to therapy assistance and telehealth as well as patient information leaflets and education videos.