News: Press Releases

PointCare NOW: Reports from the Field

June 30, 2008

 
Marlborough, Massachusetts: June 30, 2008: PointCare Technologies, one of America’s leading companies providing diagnostic solutions in the worldwide effort to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, is bringing critical CD4/CD4% diagnostics to under-served populations in Africa.
 
Regular, repeated CD4 absolute and % testing (examining the CD4 cells, also known as T-helper cells, in the peripheral blood) in HIV-infected individuals is essential to staging safe and effective HIV anti-retroviral therapy (ART). When anti-retroviral therapy is taken daily, it can dramatically slow the progression of HIV disease and the development of AIDS. 
 
The PointCare NOW is facilitating testing in under-served African populations. This compact, portable and easy-to-use diagnostic instrument has revolutionized HIV/AIDS monitoring in the developing world. It brings sophisticated testing into the field delivering two categories of testing simultaneously: CD4 absolute count and CD4% combined with extensive hematology profiling. Within minutes, T-cell subset depletion, anemia and abnormal white cell differentials are all reported on the spot – a first in the cellular based diagnostics industry. 
 
Designed to optimize precious patient-physician interaction, in less than eight minutes the PointCare NOW provides diagnostic information to the practitioner that is critical for effective patient monitoring. This new diagnostic system empowers healthcare workers to begin immediate counseling and to ensure the delivery of effective health care on the spot in rural locations, reducing dramatically the disparities imposed by the lack of laboratory infrastructure.  
 
The PointCare NOW has had a positive impact on the work of Joseph Opondo at St. Joseph Mission’s Hospital in Migori, in the rural western part of Kenya. According to the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network, more than 1.5 million Kenyans have died of HIV/AIDS since 1984, and today more than 3 million Kenyans (16% of all adults) are HIV positive.
 
“Before we started using the PointCare NOW,” Mr. Opondo states, “we only had a manual technique for CD4 counting and CD4%.  This was very tedious. It took a very long time to get the results and sometimes it was not easy to differentiate between CD4 lymphocytes and monocytes. This meant patients had to come to the hospital twice – the first time to have their blood test, and the second time to get their results. Today, when we run samples on the PointCare NOW, our patients only make one visit. They get their results quite fast, and go home with their results and correct medication.”
A particular problem in Kenya is mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Each year some 50,000 to 60,000 children are infected. Mr. Opondo notes: “Our biggest beneficiaries have been children. With the PointCare NOW, children do not have to wait a long time for test results, and their parents do not have to pay extra amounts of money to get their CD4 percentages and other basic hematological parameters.”
 
According to Dr. Frank Mandy, Ph.D., who has worked with Health Canada and traveled extensively through Africa, “The most dramatic operational impact of the PointCare NOW is that it delivers children’s CD4 T-cell percentages at no extra cost. There’s no need to buy a software upgrade or any additional reagents. This capability is included as standard testing and this is the essential testing required by pediatricians to effectively monitor children with HIV.”
 
Dr. Mandy describes other ways in which the PointCare NOW offers considerable hidden savings. “The CD4 reagents (the chemicals needed for tests) are heat-stable between 2 – 42 degrees C (36 – 108 F) and do not require cold-chain transportation or refrigerated storage. Because the PointCare NOW is so simple to use, clinics can hire local staff without considerable laboratory technical experience. This new technology really does represent sustainable quality testing at an affordable cost.”
 
Recognizing this potential, the World Bank recently awarded $198,300.00 to bring the PointCare NOW to rural Malawi. This funding was awarded to PointCare from the 2007 World Bank Development Marketplace grant program, which identifies and supports innovative and early-stage projects with high potential in the developing world.
 
PointCare is using this grant to work in Malawi in partnership with St Gabriel’s Mission Hospital. Before using the PointCare NOW, the hospital had to undertake manual CD4 counting which Dr. Athanase Kiromera of St. Gabriel’s Mission Hospital, describes as a long process “prone to human error”. 
 
Dr. Kiromera adds “The big advantage of the PointCare NOW is it gives us not only the CD4 count but also the CD4 lymphocyte %, which is critically important in pediatric care especially in countries like Malawi with endemic malaria and tuberculosis.” This small south-eastern African country has suffered a devastating AIDS epidemic; 650,000 Malawians have already died of AIDS; 10 die of AIDS every hour.
 
Another major advantage of the PointCare NOW is that for the healthcare workers there is a significant reduction to potential exposure to biohazards. In the fully automated testing process within the instrument, each specimen is self-contained in the patient’s sample tube and the operator is never exposed to the blood. This is a critical consideration when most specimens are harboring lethal infectious agents. The PointCare NOW system is designed with a nominal energy requirement and it will run on alternate electric supplies such as a car battery or solar panels.  
 
PointCare was founded by medical entrepreneurs Dr. Petra Krauledat and Dr. W. Peter Hansen and combines the talents of experts in medical diagnostics, mechanical, chemical and software engineering. Dr. Krauledat, CEO of PointCare, explains PointCare was founded because “We believe in the universal right of access to quality medical care, no matter where a person lives. We built the PointCare NOW because the AIDS epidemic clearly demonstrates the need to bring diagnostics to under-served populations throughout the world. Recent reports from the field show us that easy-to use diagnostics can make the difference.”
 
HIV/AIDS in Africa
Close to 40 million people suffer from HIV/AIDS and 12 million African children have already been orphaned by AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa has more AIDS patients than any other region of the world: 22.5 million of its people were living with HIV at the end of 2007, and about 1.7 million more people were infected during 2007.
 
PointCare Technologies Inc.
PointCare Technologies is one of America’s leading companies in the worldwide effort to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. This privately held, FDA-registered, ISO-certified medical diagnostics company invents, develops, manufactures and markets medical diagnostic products. PointCare brings diagnostic capabilities to resource-limited urban and rural regions, enabling immediate identification and treatment of infectious diseases by healthcare professionals. 
The company’s mission is to provide better diagnostic care to disadvantaged populations worldwide. PointCare collaborates with clinicians, scientists, engineers and other thought-leaders around the globe, and its strategic partners include some of the world’s most advanced clinical and diagnostics companies. For more information, you are warmly invited to visit www.pointcare.net
 
Media Contacts:
Kim Beer, Director of Marketing
Tel: 508-281-6926 x 26
 
Bobby Feigler, Vice President Worldwide Sales & Marketing
Tel: 508-281-6926 x 10

PointCare Technologies
181 Cedar Hill Street
Marlborough, MA 01752