TY - JOUR
T1 - Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings
T2 - A Review of the Present and Future of PoC in Its Most Needed Environment
AU - Heidt, Benjamin
AU - Siqueira, Williane F
AU - Eersels, Kasper
AU - Diliën, Hanne
AU - van Grinsven, Bart
AU - Fujiwara, Ricardo T
AU - Cleij, Thomas J
N1 - Funding Information:
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, B.H., W.F.S. and K.E.; methodology, B.H., K.E. and B.v.G.; investigation, B.H., W.F.S., R.T.F. and T.J.C.; resources, B.H., W.F.S. and H.D.; writing—original draft preparation, B.H., W.F.S. and K.E.; writing—review and editing, K.E., H.D., B.v.G., R.T.F. and T.J.C.; visualization, B.H. and H.D.; supervision, K.E., H.D., B.v.G., R.T.F. and T.J.C.; funding acquisition, K.E., B.v.G., R.T.F. and T.J.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript Funding: This research was funded by the WUN Research Mobility Programme (RMP) that allowed researchers from Brazil and the Netherlands to visit each other and collaborate. In addition, the authors would like to thank the Province of Limburg (Limburg Meet project) and the Taskforce for Applied Research of the Dutch Research Foundation (SIA-NWO) through the RAAK-PRO project “SURFSCAN” for funding this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 MDPI AG. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/9/24
Y1 - 2020/9/24
N2 - Point of care (PoC) diagnostics are at the focus of government initiatives, NGOs and fundamental research alike. In high-income countries, the hope is to streamline the diagnostic procedure, minimize costs and make healthcare processes more efficient and faster, which, in some cases, can be more a matter of convenience than necessity. However, in resource-limited settings such as low-income countries, PoC-diagnostics might be the only viable route, when the next laboratory is hours away. Therefore, it is especially important to focus research into novel diagnostics for these countries in order to alleviate suffering due to infectious disease. In this review, the current research describing the use of PoC diagnostics in resource-limited settings and the potential bottlenecks along the value chain that prevent their widespread application is summarized. To this end, we will look at literature that investigates different parts of the value chain, such as fundamental research and market economics, as well as actual use at healthcare providers. We aim to create an integrated picture of potential PoC barriers, from the first start of research at universities to patient treatment in the field. Results from the literature will be discussed with the aim to bring all important steps and aspects together in order to illustrate how effectively PoC is being used in low-income countries. In addition, we discuss what is needed to improve the situation further, in order to use this technology to its fullest advantage and avoid "leaks in the pipeline", when a promising device fails to take the next step of the valorization pathway and is abandoned.
AB - Point of care (PoC) diagnostics are at the focus of government initiatives, NGOs and fundamental research alike. In high-income countries, the hope is to streamline the diagnostic procedure, minimize costs and make healthcare processes more efficient and faster, which, in some cases, can be more a matter of convenience than necessity. However, in resource-limited settings such as low-income countries, PoC-diagnostics might be the only viable route, when the next laboratory is hours away. Therefore, it is especially important to focus research into novel diagnostics for these countries in order to alleviate suffering due to infectious disease. In this review, the current research describing the use of PoC diagnostics in resource-limited settings and the potential bottlenecks along the value chain that prevent their widespread application is summarized. To this end, we will look at literature that investigates different parts of the value chain, such as fundamental research and market economics, as well as actual use at healthcare providers. We aim to create an integrated picture of potential PoC barriers, from the first start of research at universities to patient treatment in the field. Results from the literature will be discussed with the aim to bring all important steps and aspects together in order to illustrate how effectively PoC is being used in low-income countries. In addition, we discuss what is needed to improve the situation further, in order to use this technology to its fullest advantage and avoid "leaks in the pipeline", when a promising device fails to take the next step of the valorization pathway and is abandoned.
KW - point of care diagnostics
KW - low-income countries
KW - resource-limited settings
KW - bottlenecks to usage by patients
KW - SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
KW - OF-CARE
KW - COST-EFFECTIVENESS
KW - MEDICAL DEVICES
KW - LOW-INCOME
KW - TESTS
KW - TECHNOLOGIES
KW - TUBERCULOSIS
KW - COUNTRIES
KW - HIV
U2 - 10.3390/bios10100133
DO - 10.3390/bios10100133
M3 - (Systematic) Review article
C2 - 32987809
SN - 0265-928X
VL - 10
JO - Biosensors
JF - Biosensors
IS - 10
M1 - 133
ER -