Hong Kong-based New World Development and Prenetics have introduced a rapid at-home Covid-19 test, Circle HealthPod, which delivers results in 20 minutes. Also designed for point-of-care use, the CE-IVD marked device is reusable and comes with single-use capsules. Developed at the University of Oxford, the test requires a lower nasal swab and offers results to the user’s smartphone or directly on the device. Circle HealthPod is indicated for symptomatic and asymptomatic people aged two years and above.

ExThera Medical has secured interim order from the Canadian Health Authority for the use of its Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity Blood Filter to treat Covid-19. The blood purification device is able to lower viral and bacterial loads in the bloodstream. The device has held holds Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the US since April last year It was seen to significantly decrease mortality in severe Covid-19 cases in an early clinical study.

Mylab Discovery Solutions has partnered with Hemex Health to create point-of-care diagnostics for Covid-19 and other diseases. Mylab will work on developing fluorescence immunoassay (FIA) and electrophoresis-based test assays while Hemex will offer its Gazelle testing platform and expertise. The portable device and assays are expected to enable testing at any location across various environmental conditions, and with no requirement for sample transport, delivering fast results.