K. Zhang
Allerdia Inc, California, United States
Keywords: Food allergy, rapid diagnosis, POCT,
Food allergies now affect 10% of the US population, including military personnel. Traditional centralized in vitro IgE diagnostic tests often have false positives, so oral food challenge (OFC) remains the gold standard for definitive food allergy diagnosis, but OFC is costly, highly medical resources dependent, and inaccessible for many, especially for the deployed military personnel in the field. We at Allerdia have developed a prototype point-of-care test (POCT) using reverse lateral flow immunoassay (R-LFIA) technology platform, which detects IgE using labelled food allergens and works with serum, plasma, or finger-prick blood. Results are available in 15 minutes and can be viewed visually or analyzed quantitatively, with the multiplex format able to test up to 10 allergens simultaneously from one sample. Early data show strong sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reproducibility, and the POCT is intended for both civilian and military use.