At AACC booth 2811, Cepheid, Sunnyvale, Calif, exhibited the GeneXpert Omni, a flexible and portable clinical molecular diagnostic system designed to meet the needs of the point-of-care market.

At 9 inches tall and weighing 2.2 pounds, the GeneXpert Omni will run the same polymerase chain reaction?based Xpert cartridges as Cepheid’s existing family of GeneXpert systems.

“Building on the accuracy, speed, and ease?of?use that users expect from Cepheid’s GeneXpert systems, the GeneXpert Omni offers an even more streamlined user experience, with an advanced user interface that runs on a portable tablet or smartphone,” says John Bishop, chairman and chief executive of Cepheid.

“Recognizing the need for faster test results in the point-of-care environment, Cepheid expects to launch even faster Xpert tests in conjunction with the availability of the GeneXpert Omni,” says David Persing, MD, PhD, chief medical and technology officer at Cepheid. “Compared to an average run?time of about an hour today, we are further optimizing every stage within the cartridge with a goal of delivering test results in as little as 15 minutes, starting with our Xpert Xpress Group A Strep assay.”

In partnership with not?for?profit organizations, Cepheid seeks to broaden access to quality molecular diagnostics. The company’s Xpert MTB/RIF test was endorsed by the World Health Organization in December 2010 for use in identifying mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) DNA and resistance to rifampicin (RIF). Since then, Cepheid has placed more than 4,000 GeneXpert systems and shipped more than 13 million Xpert MTB/RIF tests as part of its high burden developing country program. Development and initial roll-out of the Xpert MTB/RIF test received essential early support from Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for International Development, and Unitaid.

“The majority of people in the developing world still lack access to adequate tests for common diseases, and Cepheid’s GeneXpert Omni has the potential to be a breakthrough platform on the path to achieving universal diagnosis,” says Catharina Boehme, chief executive of FIND, Geneva, Switzerland. “Cepheid and FIND share a commitment to enabling universal access to high-quality diagnostics for people in the developing world, dating back to 2006 with the Xpert diagnostic test for MTB/RIF, followed by Xpert HIV and, most recently, the next?generation Xpert MTB Ultra. These innovations show the power of collaboration to positively impact public health and patient lives in developing countries.”

Wireless and Web?enabled, the GeneXpert Omni is expected to be available for commercial point-of-care customers in late 2016.

For more information, visit Cepheid.