DIAGNOSTICS
Variable Barcodes to Boost COVID-19 Test Kit Experience KEREN SOOKNE, DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL CONTENT TOP THREE TAKEAWAYS 1. Technology turns a standard color or line result into a scannable barcode, leaving less to consumer interpretation.
2. Tests can be recalibrated because there is a central database of results—artificial intelligence can be used to recalibrate the test.
3. The data is being used to learn about the pandemic.
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any consumers who’ve had the experience of purchasing at-home health tests have been faced with “faint line” confusion. Does it count? Is it even a line? They purchase the device looking for answers and end up more unsure. Israel-based Varcode is looking to improve lateral flow test kits with technology intended to take the guesswork out of reading results by offering a scannable barcode. Though barcodes are typically static, Varcode, which also has offices in the U.S., has developed a method of changing a barcode based on a sensor, making it dynamic and scannable. (Varcode stands for “variable barcode”).
↑ Anatomy of a simple lateral flow test kit.
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