A software platform made in the UK will soon allow people to report their COVID-19 test results to public health authorities in America, helping to track the spread of the virus.
Transform, developed by Wales-based Bond Digital Health, is being used in conjunction with a lateral flow test that is being manufactured in high volume by a major US diagnostics firm.
The test has been granted emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Transform – a customisable subscription platform – allows users to capture and manage rapid test results and other data in real time on an easy-to-use app, cloud, and dashboard system.
Ian Smith, CEO of Bond Digital Health, said: “To have Transform be an integral component of an FDA approved test with such significant market potential is a major milestone for our business and an incredible achievement for our team.
“We’re proud that our technology will be playing an important part in helping to track the prevalence of Covid-19 in communities and workplaces across the United States.
“The public health insights our data platform provides will be invaluable to authorities and employers and will ultimately help efforts to bring the pandemic to an end.”
The test can detect the presence of COVID-19 within 30 minutes using samples self-collected from the lower nostrils.
The firm has received EUAs from the FDA for the test for over the counter use without a prescription, for professional use in point of care settings and for prescription home use.
The test has also been authorised for use with children as young as two years old.
The app developed by Bond is part of the customer’s product granted an EUA. It will allow users to easily report their COVID-19 test results to public health authorities in the US to help track the spread of the disease in communities.
It will also help employers track prevalence in the workplace. The app will be available on the Apple App Store and via Google Play.
In the last two years Bond has received more than £3m in equity funding and more than £200,000 in government grants, which has allowed it to expand its development team and bring Transform® to market.
Transform is now being used by test developers in North America and Europe and the platform has won awards for its innovative technology.
In 2021, Bond attained ISO 13485 certification for its quality management system, confirming Transform as a secure, regulatory compliant data management solution for lateral flow tests.