Artificial intelligence-focused healthcare technology company Gauss partnered with Cellex, a biotech company specializing in point-of-care diagnostic testing, to create the first rapid COVID-19 antigen tests patients can use at home.
In April, Cellex became the first company to earn an FDA emergency use authorization for its rapid COVID-19 antibody test. If the antigen test it's developing with Gauss is authorized by the FDA this fall, it will be the first approved antigen test that allows people to test themselves for COVID-19 and receive rapid results in their home.
To use the test, patients follow step-by-step instructions via Gauss' app. After collecting a nasal swab sample and performing the test, the app will prompt the patient to scan their test with their smartphone. Within seconds, the app will process the image with an end-to-end neural network and inform them if they tested positive or negative.
The app can also facilitate automatic data reporting to local health authorities and allow clinical users to automatically send data to their EMR and laboratory information systems.
"The integration of Cellex's accurate, at-home rapid antigen test with Gauss' mobile app offers a scalable solution to significantly reduce transmission of COVID-19 and help society mitigate the impacts of the pandemic until a vaccine is widely available," Siddarth Satish, Gauss' founder and CEO, said in a Sept. 16 news release. "By embedding advanced computer vision algorithms within a thoughtfully-designed user experience, we can enable consumers to perform a rapid test in their own homes just as well as a trained operator or a laboratory instrument -— simply by using their smartphone cameras."