From crisis to innovation in point-of-care testing: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and future directions

Global pandemics, like COVID-19, pose severe threats to human health and disrupt social and economic systems. Rapid, accurate, and accessible in vitro diagnostic (IVD) methods, particularly point-of-care testing (POCT), were essential for managing the crisis. The emergency authorization of numerous POCT devices accelerated the development of novel detection technologies. While thousands of emergency-approved COVID-19 tests helped mitigate the pandemic, humanity remains vulnerable to future epidemics. In this review, we analyze the relationship between the approval detection tests and the pandemic progress during the five phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide insights of ideal IVD technologies into different phases. We also examine the working principles, advantages, and disadvantages of several representative COVID-19 tests and introduce emerging POCT technologies to address the current challenges. Finally, we discuss the future development and deployment of POCT technologies for managing future global pandemics.