Multiplex PCR technologies developer Seegene will introduce the combination test at the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2018), which will take place in Madrid, Spain, from 21 April to 24 April.
The combination test is a high-efficiency solution that diagnoses various causes of diseases with multiplex molecular diagnosis assays.
On April 22 at ECCMID 2018, Seegene will hold a symposium on the subject, "Expansion of the All-in-one platform, a solution for diagnosis of infectious diseases."
Seegene will also showcase its molecular diagnostic system "SGSTAR" at its booth (#18), which is a system that allows order-to-report on the same day and enables the running of the combination test.
The combination test is an efficient testing method that can accurately and timely detect pathogens for syndromic infectious diseases by simultaneously performing all possible tests for pathogens sharing similar symptoms from the same type of specimen.
For example, in the case of a patient with respiratory symptoms, the combination test can accurately reveal the cause of the disease by simultaneously diagnosing whether the relevant symptoms are caused by tubercule bacillus or pneumococcus.
Seegene's analysis of 325 patient samples suspected of having tuberculosis showed an unexpected result in which over one-third of the patients were infected with either tubercle bacillus and pneumococcus or just pneumococcus. This result demonstrated the utility of the combination test.
Patients found with both tubercule bacillus and pneumococcus require integrated medical treatment, and if these patients miss the opportune time to receive treatment for tuberculosis, the symptoms can be further aggravated. Therefore, finding the exact cause of similar symptoms of infectious disease is critical; yet, in many cases, only one of the tests, whether for tubercule bacillus or for pneumococcus is prescribed.
The need for a combination test has been presented through several medical journal articles. However, the wide spread of combined diagnostics has been hampered by non-clinical factors such as lack of reimbursement or cost of the tests.
'SGSTAR ("Seegene Sameday Test and Report")' is an innovative MDx solution, and is only available through Seegene. This unique MDx system provides order-to-report on the same day by simultaneously performing high multiplex real-time PCR testing on a single platform, regardless of specimen and assay type. With this system solution, the combination test can be concurrently implemented, and the test results can be provided on the very day of the patient's visit to the hospital.
Seegene founder and CEO Dr Jong-Yoon Chun said: "In order to achieve on-time customized patient care and to foster a comprehensive delivery medical care to patients, a more objective and accurate testing method based on symptoms and samples is necessary. We believe that Seegene's combination test will be a breakthrough in achieving this."
At ECCMID 2018, Seegene will develop partnerships with general hospitals and reference laboratories for clinical studies to globally prove the effectiveness of the combination test. The combination test is not only for tuberculosis and pneumonia but is also available for HPV and sexually-transmitted infections (STI) as well as full panel tests for gastrointestinal infections (GI).
