CLN Daily 2026
As part of ADLM 2026 being held in Anaheim, California in July, finalists for the 2026 Disruptive Technology Award Competition (DTAC) will showcase a range of disruptive technologies, including innovative offerings that address cancer, back pain, and point-of-care challenges.
By hosting the DTAC, ADLM is giving the diagnostic and laboratory medicine community an early look at impactful products with the potential to drive the field forward and improve patient care.
A panel of expert judges will select an award winner during a special session on Monday, July 27. This year’s finalists include Anvil Diagnostics, Augurex Life Sciences, and Kompass Diagnostics.
Anvil Diagnostics will present MycoScan, the world’s first pan-fungal digital polymerase chain reaction blood test capable of identifying multiple fungal pathogens, with more than 41 species tested so far. The patent-pending technology works by using semi-specific primers that generate unique multilocus “fingerprints” for each target pathogen. MycoScan has a turnaround time of under 4 hours and uses just 2 mL of plasma, making it both fast and minimally invasive. The company’s goal is to address a critical unmet need: improving the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in hospitalized immunocompromised patients. Current diagnostics detect fewer than 10% of early cases from blood alone.
Augurex Life Sciences will present SPINEstat, a blood-based test that detects disease-relevant autoantibody responses associated with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), a chronic, immune-mediated disease that mostly affects the axial skeleton. By complementing tools such as C-reactive protein, HLA-B27, and imaging, SPINEstat provides a biologically grounded signal that helps differentiate inflammatory from mechanical back pain, leading to a fast and accurate diagnosis of axSpA. SPINEstat has already been approved in Canada and the United Kingdom, and it was recently recognized by the United States Food and Drug Administration with Breakthrough Device designation.
Kompass Diagnostics will present IDA, a rapid, multimodal electrical transduction platform. This product delivers clinical-grade chemistry, immunoassay, and molecular diagnostics in a palm-sized design — the first such device of its kind. It works through a proprietary electrical transduction assay platform that has analytical sensitivity comparable with state-of-the-art laboratory technologies. It’s fast, too: A broad menu of tests across diverse point-of-care settings based on finger-prick whole-blood analysis can be done within 10 minutes. The company’s first test is a rapid, multi-hormone test that guides time-sensitive decisions in fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization and egg freezing.
The three finalist companies were chosen from six semifinalists announced earlier this year. The remaining three semifinalists include InDiagnostics, MadX, and Prolight Diagnostics.
InDiagnostics. The Quic Liver and Kidney Panel is a rapid, finger-stick blood test designed to facilitate management of chronic liver and kidney disease. The test can be done at home, with single-use disposables that connect to a phone or computer through a USB dongle. This platform introduces the rapid-chemistry segment to the in vitro diagnostic market: finger-stick sampling, no instrument, multiplexed and quantitative operation, and connectivity to providers.
MadX. The Allergy Xplorer 3 (ALEX³) is the world’s first big-data-driven multiplex IgE test. It provides a comprehensive immunological fingerprint of patients by assessing 300 analytical features from 145 allergen sources in a single step. ALEX³ eliminates the need for multiple rounds of IgE single-plex testing and reduces time to diagnosis with a “one-shot” diagnostic approach. The technology also uses RAVEN, MadX’s interpretation-guidance software that simplifies complex patterns into clear clinical insights, giving healthcare providers more confidence in their practice.
Prolight Diagnostics. Psyros(TM) Digital Immunoassay Platform is a point-of-care immunoassay that combines a novel approach to single-molecule counting with a simple, low-cost disposable cartridge. It uses whole blood, without requiring cell separation, and reactive oxygen species that permanently etch dark spots in a fluorescent sensor, with each dark spot representing a binding event. The state-of-the-art instrument images the sensor, counting each binding event, and converts this information into analyte concentration.
Jen A. Miller is a freelance journalist who lives in Audubon, N.J. +Bluesky: @byjenamiller.bsky.social.