During the pandemic it became obvious for Okos Diagnostics to tackle the plastic waste coming from plastic COVID antigen tests. However, rapid antigen tests are used for a lot of other infectious diseases and the technology is in an enormous upwards trend. Already before the pandemic, more than 2 billion lateral flow assays were produced each year. The problem is that these tests are single-use, and non-recyclable, as Darren Rowles pointed out in his great article about diagnostic waste in 2019.
(Why the diagnostics industry has a responsibility to tackle plastic pollution)
The pandemic opened the gate for lateral flow assays to be used for other medical conditions, and to decentralize healthcare. Our biodegradable housing, Gelassette, is a universal cassette that could be used for all rapid test use cases. Imagine a biodegradable self-test for vitamin D, thyroid function, or HIV, that is bio-based and would dissolve in water after use. Gaining valuable information about your health, should not come at the cost of our nature.
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📩 info@okosdiagnostics.com.