General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS) is accelerating the development schedule of its MATCHBOX™ Point-of-Care molecular diagnostic platform to respond to the growing need for testing for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

MATCHBOX is a stand-alone platform based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology for positive identification of molecular targets. MATCHBOX works with blood, urine and swab samples and does not require any manual sample preparation, special training, additional equipment, or facility set-up.

MATCHBOX is expected to have the capability to test and provide a diagnosis in the field at the point of care within 30 to 60 minutes for a wide range of known respiratory infections, including COVID-19 and influenza A and B, using a single patient sample.

Scott Forney, President of GA-EMS, said the company is working diligently to expedite the transition from a working prototype to an FDA cleared production platform including the necessary approvals to bring MATCHBOX to market. MATCHBOX has the potential to test across a spectrum of respiratory infection targets. From a single sample, a physician on-site may be able to determine whether a patient is infected with COVID-19 or another type of upper respiratory infection in 60 minutes or less. Determining exactly what the patient has in a single visit and in a single hour has the potential to help significantly expedite patient treatment options and facilitate containment to mitigate potential spread.