A diagnostic test for long COVID is now available to patients across Australia. The test can help physicians diagnose long COVID, differentiate it from diseases with similar symptoms, and provide insights into personalized treatment approaches.
The typical symptoms of long COVID, such as fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, insomnia, and a range of cardiovascular issues, are not unique to one condition. A diagnostic test to identify patients with long COVID, using objective measures of immune biomarkers, is an essential first step for treatment, according to a release from IncellDx, a precision medicine company advancing novel diagnostics.
The blood-based test was developed by diagnostic testing company IGeneX using IncellDx’s incellKINE assay. incellKINE is a machine learning-based technology that is able to assess the presence of a distinctive immunologic profile characterized by patterns of cytokine and chemokine biomarkers found to be unique to long COVID patients, as reported in Frontiers in Immunology. The test provides 97% sensitivity.
Private medical laboratory and pathology services provider Healius Pathology was selected to facilitate patient sample collections at 22 collection centers across Australia including:
- Beecroft, NSW
- Roselands, NSW
- Carina, QLD
- Cleveland, QLD
- Arana Hills, QLD
- Mount Gravatt, QLD
- Balaclava, VIC
- Camberwell, VIC
- Surrey Hills, VIC
- Heidelberg, VIC
- Tullamarine, VIC
- Melbourne, VIC
- Point Cook, VIC
- Hobart, TAS
- Launceston, TAS
- Jandakot, WA
- Myaree, WA
- Joondalup, WA
- Midland, WA
- Duncraig, WA
The test received CE-IVD marking in Europe in 2022, which indicates that it fulfills the requirements of relevant European product directives and meets all the requirements of the relevant recognized European harmonized performance and safety standards.
