Newton (United States) -  Continuum announced that it has collaborated with Daktari Diagnostics, a company developing point-of-care diagnostics for global health, to create the Daktari CD4, a revolutionary HIV/AIDS point-of-care test that can perform critical, low-cost CD4 counts to guide HIV treatment.

Designed specifically for the needs of emerging markets, Daktari presented the product on 18 July at AIDS 2010.

"Daktari Diagnostics came to us with a laboratory prototype, and was looking for us to turn it into a product ready for the field," said Continuum CEO Harry West. "We needed to bring a variety of skills to bear in order to be successful. In addition to the highly technical requirements of developing a system that can determine the specific stage of HIV, it needed to address all of the unique needs of developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa. We immersed ourselves in this healthcare environment and utilized that knowledge to design and create a product that is robust, accurate, and portable."

In an ideal world, HIV-positive patients would be tested regularly so that the moment the disease progresses, appropriate life-saving treatment can begin. This knowledge can have a profound impact on the length and quality of the patient's life. However, flow cytometry tools, which enable clinicians to test CD4 counts, which determine the stage of HIV, are large, expensive, slow, and fragile - none of which works for economically challenged countries with remote medical clinics and patients who often cannot return to obtain test results.

The World Health Organization has identified simple, portable CD4 diagnostic devices as a critical need in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Daktari's CD4 device will answer this call to action by bringing this essential blood test to parts of the world where millions of people now have access to life-saving drugs, yet cannot begin or monitor treatment due to inadequate diagnostics.

"Based on my prior work in Africa, southeast Asia and other parts of the developing world, I knew we could utilize simple electrical instruments to tackle the CD4 count challenge effectively, rather than using the current, complex approach of counting CD4 with a set of lasers packaged inside a refrigerator-sized piece of equipment," said Dr. Bill Rodriguez, CEO of Daktari Diagnostics. "Our challenge was figuring out how to take this idea from conception to creation. Continuum's deep knowledge of emerging markets, their commitment to immersing themselves in the cultures and societies where their products will live, and their highly technical medical design team made them the perfect partner for the Daktari CD4."

Daktari CD4's Innovative Design

The Daktari CD4 is designed to count CD4 cells in the bloodstream, to assess the body's ability to fight infection. CD4 counts are one of the primary methods to assess the progression of HIV/AIDS. Current testing requires drawing blood from the patient and sending the sample to a lab - a time-consuming and costly process in many parts of Africa and in developing countries where AIDS is prevalent, affecting more than 30 million people.

Instead, the Daktari device provides on-the-spot CD4 counts with a finger stick in about eight minutes. It works by directing a drop of blood into an assay chamber on a small plastic card, where antibodies grab onto CD4 cells while letting other white blood cells pass by. The process - known as microfluidic cell chromatography - overcomes the need for complex preparation techniques, enabling the device to be simple, inexpensive, and handheld, ideal for caregivers traveling to remote areas of the world and working outside traditional medical facilities.

As simple in concept and as easy to use as a glucose meter, Daktari technology overcomes the two critical barriers to current point-of-care testing: complex sample preparation, and fragile, expensive optical sensors.

• Microfluidics: Daktari's sample preparation technology, known to specialists as microfluidic cell chromatography, isolates cells and other particles in a miniature sensing chamber, without pipetting, labels or reagents of any kind - none of the complex manual steps that take blood tests out of the hands of clinicians who work beyond the reach of sophisticated labs.
  
  
• Electrochemical sensing: Daktari CD4 also takes advantage of a second innovation, lysate impedance spectroscopy. The system uses a simple sensor that counts the captured CD4 cells by measuring their internal contents electrically. A portable, handheld instrument interprets the electrical signal, and reports the CD4 count within minutes.
  

Unencumbered by the lenses, cameras, filters or complex optics that put many diagnostic tests out of reach for clinics, health posts, and mobile caregivers, Daktari CD4 will enable clinicians in remote locations to swiftly, accurately and inexpensively provide test results to people who need them.

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Media Contact:
Jill Monahan
Tier One Partners
t: +1 484 244 5300

About Continuum

As a global innovation design consultancy, Continuum designs experiences that improve people's lives and drive business innovation. Based on in-depth consumer research, rigorous analysis of clients' business challenges and inspired creativity, Continuum identifies opportunities for innovation, creates new products and services, and designs new ways to communicate brands. Since 1983, Continuum has worked with companies worldwide including AllSteel, American Express, Procter and Gamble, Master Lock, Samsung, and Staples. Continuum has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Milan, Seoul and Shanghai. For more information, please go to www.dcontinuum.com.

About Daktari Diagnostics, Inc.

Daktari Diagnostics, Inc. was founded in 2008 by Dr. Bill Rodriguez, an experienced executive in global health delivery and former Chief Medical Officer of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and Dr. Mehmet Toner, a professor of engineering at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital widely hailed as a leader in applying microfluidic technologies to medicine. With a top executive team and global partnerships with leading technology developers, Daktari plans to bring the power of accurate, immediate clinical diagnostics to hundreds of millions of people around the world. For more information, please go to www.daktaridx.com.