POINT OF CARE DEVICES

(POC DIAGNOSTIC DEVICES)

POINT OF CARE TEST (POCT)

Dr. Preeti Solanki

DEFINITION AND COMPARISON:
POC Diagnostics
 Point-of-care (POC) diagnostic device
is an instrument that is used to
acquire particular clinical information
of patients in clinical as well as
resource-limited settings.
 quick acquisition of test results so
that the patient can be treated in the
right direction at the earliest
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Conventional Diagnostics
 The conventional clinical diagnostic
procedure requires high-end and
costly instruments, an expert
technician for operation and result
interpretation, longer time, etc. that
ultimately makes it exhausting and
expensive.
2
 1962 - development of rapid

TAT analysis of blood glucose

1977 - rapid pregnancy tests

POC diagnostic devices are

used by healthcare
professionals, patients, and
their families because of their
user-friendly features.
This ultimately results in a
reduction of the turn-around
time (TAT), which is the time
duration between sample
registrations to reporting of
results.

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 TYPES OF
POCTS
• Portable
• Handheld
• Bench-top & easily
transportable
• Monitoring POCTs
• Disposable

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ERS- EMERGENCY VAN:
AMBULANCE

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
‘ASSURED’ CRITERIA FOR POC TESTS
4. User-friendly
2. Sensitive
1. Affordable 3. Specific (simple to perform
(few false
(by those at risk) (few false positive) and needs
negatives)
minimum training)

5. Rapid 7. Equipment
6. Robust 8. Delivered
(producing results free
(rigid storage (to needy)
within few (no complex
conditions)
minutes)) system)

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ADVANTAGES OF POCTS
 Low cost in comparison to conventional diagnostics.
 More convenient for continuous monitoring or repetitive follow-up tests to track the progress of
treatment.
 POC tests reduce the TAT drastically - very effective in managing critical cases such as heart disease.
 Low TAT is also favorable in resource-limited settings or for patients visiting from distant places
 If diagnosis is completed in a single visit that reduces the chance of further spread of infection to the
 Helps in routine analysis of millions of people in resource-limited areas
 High-end digital platforms employed by most of the POC devices such as in blood-pressure, glucose,
oxygen monitoring devices, reduce the workloads of nurses and other first-line healthcare workers.
 Result interpretation is carried out by automatic multiplex analytical tools of device and does not
require expert technician
 Integrating with appropriate software, POC test results can be stored in the medical database and
shared with healthcare workers through a cloud server, which benefits the patient as well as the
clinicians
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POCTS IN BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVEL DETECTION
BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING
➢ What is it?
 Blood Glucose Monitoring is a way of checking the concentration of glucose in the
blood using a glucometer.
➢ What is the purpose?
 Provides quick response to tell if the sugar is high or low indicating a change in diet,
exercise or insulin. Over time, it reveals individual of blood glucose changes
➢ Why monitor blood glucose?
 Reduces risk of developing complications with diabetes.
 Allows diabetics to see if the insulin and other medications they are taking are
working.
 Gives diabetics an idea as to how exercise and food affect their blood sugar.
 May prevent hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia
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POINT OF CARE: BLOOD GLUCOSE
Used in: Working principle of Glucometer
 clinical units  System is based on dry-reagent test strips with
 primary care
visually read end-points and/or simple-to-use
reflectance meters and biosensors.
 by patients for monitoring
➢ 2 methods used in electrochemical
at home
measurement of glucose are:
 Colorimetric method
 Amperometric method

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 - Development of Glucose Sensors
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OTHER COMMON POCTS
Pulse Oximeter
Working Principle:
• Use- Red and Infra red emitting LEDs + a photo-detector
• Oxygenated Hb absorbs more IR light and Deoxygenated Hb absorbs more Red light

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 Normal: 120/80 mmHg
BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING
• Heart Disease/ CVDs,
Hypertension
• High Blood Pressure
During Pregnancy
• High Blood Pressure in
Kids and Teens
• Pulmonary Hypertension
• Stroke
• Kidney diseases

https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm
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Wearable EEG devices:

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THANK YOU

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