TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sight and Sheba Tel Hashomer today announced their new collaboration aimed at mitigating the risk of contamination by COVID-19. Sight’s OLO blood analyser will provide rapid FBC (full blood count) results in a dedicated lab within Israel’s flagship government-run hospital, to process samples of infected patients who are being monitored and treated in a separate field hospital.
Prior to deploying OLO for coronavirus patient testing, Sight ran a two-month evaluation at the central lab of Sheba Tel Hashomer, one of the top 10 hospitals in the world, according to Newsweek, and one of the biggest in Israel. The successful results led to implementing OLO for FBC testing.
Currently, OLO is being used for routine testing of Sheba’s positive coronavirus patients. “OLO’s compact design makes it easy to set up quickly in a setting reserved for testing only contagious blood samples. Eliminating the risks of processing these samples alongside regular lab samples is uniquely advantageous in managing outbreaks of highly infectious diseases,” said Dr. Ram Doolman, Director of Sheba’s Laboratories Division and Automated Mega-Laboratory. “By setting up a quarantined lab that requires special protocols in handling samples from infected patients, we are taking the necessary steps to protect our staff who are on the frontlines, fighting the coronavirus epidemic.”
“Typically, monitoring a patient infected with a virus like COVID-19 would involve taking a blood sample from the infected individual with a needle, labeling vials of drawn blood, sending those vials to a lab outside of the quarantine zone, and receiving the results of the test an hour or more later,” said Yossi Pollak, CEO of Sight. “OLO gives health care providers the ability to use a self-contained cartridge to collect two drops of blood, from either a venous or finger prick sample, insert the cartridge into OLO, and receive FBC results in minutes. For health facilities in countries where OLO is available for point-of-care use, that tactical advantage could make a big difference in a field setting.”
OLO’s technology combines computer vision and AI to digitise each blood sample into more than 1,000 high resolution images. ”We are planning to further develop our technology to diagnose serious conditions, including complications that stem from a viral infection, that have a distinct visual signature in the blood sample,” said Yochay Eshel, VP of R&D at Sight. “We believe in the impact our technology could have on the management of infectious disease, and we are keen to do our part to help.”
Sight is committed to providing rapid and accurate blood tests to aid health professionals in diagnosing and treating patients around the world. By applying technological innovation to blood diagnostics, Sight hopes to improve the ways in which healthcare professionals tackle the challenging effects of infectious diseases.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: This press release is intended for distribution outside of the United States. OLO has the CE Mark registration from the European directive for performing FBC tests in point of care settings. In the United States, OLO is 510(k) cleared for use in moderate complexity laboratories; it has not yet been cleared for point of care use.
About Sight Diagnostics
Founded in 2011, Sight Diagnostics aims to transform health systems and patient outcomes through accurate and pain-free blood diagnostic testing. Sight’s technology, developed over almost a decade of research, represents breakthrough innovations in diagnostic methodology. Sight’s latest blood analyser, OLO, performs a Full Blood Count, the most commonly ordered blood test, in minutes. It’s compact: designed to be used in a variety of settings. OLO creates a digital version of a blood sample by capturing more than 1,000 highly detailed images from just two drops of blood obtained from a finger prick or venous sample. These images are then interpreted by proprietary and fully automated AI algorithms. Sight’s first product, Parasight, has been used to detect malaria in almost 1 million tests across 24 countries. The company has rapidly growing offices in the UK, the US and Israel. Learn more at sightdx.com.
