ASTUTE ANALYTICA
Emerging Trends and Potential of Lateral Flow Assay Technology
Clinical personnel frequently employ lateral flow assays, and the general public has become familiar with them outside of the hospital setting thanks to over-the-counter products like pregnancy tests. LFAs have a lot of potential to develop their current applications and expand into new ones.
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The rising prevalence of infectious diseases and growing demand for quick diagnostic tests. Thus, it is anticipated to boost the market growth. In addition, according to a research report by Astute Analytica, the Global lateral Flow Assay Market is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3% over the projection period from 2023 to 2031.
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Multiplexing Assays
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Multiplexing may help shorten test times, save costs, and possibly even reduce the quantity and number of samples needed for a given set of assays [Eltzov]. Scientists are striving to solve the problems of multiplexing to provide multiplex assays with the same long-term commercial success as single-analyte assays.
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Another potential obstacle to its introduction is the readout of multiplex assays, which is more complicated than that of single-analyte assays. Digital readouts could solve this problem, especially for those assays that would normally require considerable interpretive skill. Such digital readouts are already used by certain OTC LFAs [Mak].
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Remote Healthcare
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A general trend in recent decades has been the public becoming more proactive in gaining access to and managing their medical care, including the use of over-the-counter diagnostics.
Numerous lateral flow essays (LFA), such as screenings for allergies, medications, diabetes, and other illnesses, are already sold without a prescription. The number of over-the-counter assays will probably expand as LFAs are made more sensitive and have simpler, easier-to-understand readouts.
Primary healthcare professionals will be able to benefit from the trend towards remote healthcare as these tests develop further. The amount of information accessible will increase as patients who provide LFA findings augment prescribed tests.
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Precision Diagnostics
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LFA offers a quick and accurate assay for detecting specific biomarkers over their tested detection threshold. However, healthcare experts continue to need better sensitivity as they work to find these biomarkers at ever-earlier stages of disease progression.
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The readout method is a crucial element in the assay's sensitivity. The results of colorimetric detection are frequently displayed by LFAs as colored lines, with the test and control lines frequently made out of gold or latex nanoparticles [Mak]. These visual readouts, however, have little capacity for quantification and are frequently erroneous at the lower threshold of detection.
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Lateral flow tests' potential
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The potential for remote healthcare as well as the simplicity, affordability, and convenience of the use of LFAs will be the market's main growth drivers going forward. There are significant hurdles and there always will be. But as technology advances, many of these obstacles will probably be solved, increasing sensitivity and opening up new possibilities for quantitation and multiplexing.
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From the viewpoint of the end-user, it is obvious that over-the-counter LFAs can evaluate a larger range of situations. Primary healthcare practitioners will gain from a greater pool of trustworthy information when combined with smart devices.
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Original Source
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