Smart Surfaces for Point‐of‐Care Diagnostics

Sensitive biomarker testing can potentially help in the identifi cation and epidemiological tracking of many diseases, as well as in monitoring patients ’ response to treatment. 1 The results of routine biomarker tests performed in centralized laboratories usually take several hours, sometimes days, to reach the patient from the time of sample collection. 2 Point of care ( POC ) diagnostic devices have received much attention in recent years due to the potential of these devices to address many of the current challenges in the biodiagnostics and healthcare fi elds. 3 With rising healthcare costs plaguing an aging medical infrastructure, POC tests are thought to be an alternative to centralized laboratory testing and a potential contributor to shortened patient stays and a general movement from inpatient to outpatient settings. POC or “ near patient ” tests are typically performed outside the central laboratory environment with very short therapeutic turnaround times. In addition to the well utilized glucose tests, POC tests are also applicable for a wide range of clinically relevant biomarkers such as human chorionic gonadotrophin for pregnancy, cardiac markers for myocardial infarction, various infectious disease markers, and cholesterol. 4 – 10 Over the years, the introduction of transportable, handheld instruments has allowed POC testing to be available in a range of medical environments including the workplace, home, disaster sites, and convenience clinics. The global market for POC tests has shown consistent growth of approximately 6% annually, a trend that is projected to continue through 2013. The POC testing market is estimated to grow from $12.8 billion in 2008 to $16.4