POCT, Point of Care Testing, or point of care testing, is an important subdivision of the in vitro diagnostic industry (IVD). Compared with professional laboratory diagnosis, POCT only retains the most core steps of "sample collection-sample analysis-quality control-effective results-interpretation report", thus greatly shortening the diagnosis time, and in terms of sample amount, sample The types, convenience of reagents and professional requirements for operators all have great advantages. Although POCT is relatively inferior in terms of "single test cost" and test result quality, its comprehensive cost in clinical application is low, and the gap between test result quality and traditional laboratory diagnosis is gradually narrowing. Therefore, the laboratory The accuracy of diagnosis and the timeliness and convenience of POCT instant diagnosis are complementary and complementary in the IVD industry.
POCT products can be widely used in clinical testing, chronic disease detection and other fields. From the perspective of application market, it can be divided into professional markets such as hospital emergency department, branched outpatient department, intensive care unit, laboratory department, and primary medical institution, as well as the home market for personal self-examination and health management.
Accurate analysis is an inevitable trend in the development of detection technology. With the continuous emergence of new materials and the integration of various new technological elements such as precision manufacturing, biomedicine, and automatic control, POCT ushered in a new era from qualitative or semi-quantitative to precise quantitative. The immunochromatographic product using colloidal gold as a tracer is a successful model of POCT qualitative technology, including early pregnancy, ovulation detection and other related products that have profoundly affected human society. In the quantitative field, detection reagents and equipment based on a variety of luminescence technologies, including ordinary fluorescence, time-resolved fluorescence, upconversion luminescence, and electrochemiluminescence, have achieved precise quantification of detection.
From a global perspective, the POCT market has developed rapidly in the past 5 years. In 2013, the market size has reached 16 billion U.S. dollars. It is expected that the compound growth rate in 2018 will continue to maintain a growth rate of 8%, reaching a market size of 24 billion U.S. dollars. . The development of POCT has a lot to do with people's medical conditions, health awareness, and living standards. Developed countries and regions such as the United States and Europe account for a relatively large proportion, with a total of more than 77%, and are the world's main POCT consumption areas. In recent years, emerging markets such as China and Brazil have also experienced rapid growth in the consumption level of POCT, which is expected to become the main driving force for market growth.
POCT products are suitable for use by primary medical and health institutions. While meeting the necessary inspection services, the investment in equipment is greatly reduced, and it meets the requirements of the national hierarchical diagnosis and treatment policy. According to Rncos data, the size of my country's POCT market in 2013 was US$480 million. It is expected that with the continuous advancement of medical reform, it will maintain a compound annual growth rate of 20% in the next few years.
In order to promote the development of my country’s POCT industry, in 2012, the State Council issued the bio-industry development plan, the 2011-2013 national 863 plan and the 12th Five-Year Science and Technology Project plan to vigorously support the development of the POCT industry, which greatly promoted the rapid rise of my country’s POCT industry . According to the analysis of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, with the advancement of medical reform and the establishment of the community medical system, POCT conforms to the general direction of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment by virtue of its simple operation, rapid detection, and non-laboratory characteristics, which will drive the industry to achieve higher growth. In 2022, my country's POCT market will reach US$3.25 billion.
