Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, "Smartphone-based Solutions Spur the Global Infectious Disease Point-of-Care Testing Market, Forecast to 2024," finds that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the infectious disease point-of-care testing (POCT) market. The emergence of cost-effective lab-on-a-chip and smartphone-based POCTs, alongside increasing reliance on less-invasive testing methodologies, will propel the POCT market. Globally, the infectious disease POCT market is estimated to witness more than a three-fold growth, reaching $26.4 billion by 2024 from $7.9 billion in 2019, up at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.3 percent. 
 
“The POCT instrument selection process should involve close collaboration with supply and clinical engineering departments to incorporate their input and feedback,” said Amartya Bose, healthcare industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “This is a key consideration when the POCT committee reviews all options and makes an informed decision. Hospitals/labs/pharmacies should select regional vendors for device procurement and services. This will reduce the procurement lead time and ensure devices are managed for quality assurance, timely calibrations, and interpretation of results.”
 
Nitin Naik, Life Sciences vice president at Frost & Sullivan, added: “The application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is a key growth opportunity for manufacturers to enhance their product portfolios. By leveraging these platforms, POCT assay menus can be expanded for different patient groups by simply iterating the product development cycle. U.S. healthcare providers are also leveraging digital POCT along with virtual assistants to screen and triage asymptomatic patients.”
 
To capitalize on growth opportunities in the current and post-COVID-19 situation, POCT market participants should focus on the following solutions:

• Multiplexed POCT: Integrate sample preparation and analysis within one device to offer more advantages in a competitive environment.
• COVID-19 POCT: Develop accurate serology tests and mHealth-based diagnostics, as they will play a critical role in determining the disease’s full scope, combating the pandemic.
• Digital POCT: Adopt cloud technologies as an integral part of device development to reduce the footprint and cost of POCT devices.
• Millennials and sexually transmitted infections (STIs): Produce HIV/syphilis dual tests as evidence suggests a two- to five-fold increased risk of acquiring HIV if exposed to it when syphilis is present.