| | DECEMBER 202119across the globe, there is a growing call for national and international collaboration to understand these variants, including whether any are more infectious and how they are spreading. Thus, NGS supports COVID-19 global surveillance efforts to track and understand emerging variants. In addition, other applications of the NGS technology have been to understand disease progression and treatment options. Today, NGS is most pervasive in oncology research, and one of the newest applications in this industry is in liquid biopsy. Pathologists use NGS assays to extract and sequence the DNA of a tumor from a simple blood sample of a cancer patient. Another emerging area for NGS in oncology is in monitoring if a therapy is working or not ­ and if it is not working, knowing sooner. These and other molecular diagnostic technologies such as Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology (INAAT), RNA in situ hybridization and DNA microarrays have numerous diagnostic applications in managing various infectious and non-communicable diseases. The emergence of molecular `Point of care' (POC) tests have been hailed as an efficient and innovative way to manage infectious diseases, mainly to shorten diagnostic delay and treatment. As the name suggests, these tests offer advanced diagnostics capabilities at the point of care settings such as hospital emergency units, outpatient clinics, and in community healthcare centres. POC tests provide rapid results, enabling medical decision making, early initiation of treatment and improved health outcomes without needing the presence of sophisticated laboratory setup. These tests have significant impact in helping healthcare reach the last mile. A combination of pivotal factors such as increasing testing infrastructure, heightened awareness among the medical fraternity and patients, growing public & private insurance coverage, and the intent communicated by policy makers has redefined the adoption of molecular diagnostics in improving overall healthcare situation. The outbreak has consistently emphasised the importance of novel diagnostic technologies and the necessity of a sound policy support to ensure agility in providing healthcare. An active and collaborative approach amongst government, healthcare bodies and industry to drive innovative diagnostic approaches can strengthen the healthcare ecosystem in the fight against such emerging threats.
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