At-home COVID testing just got a lot smarter thanks to Cue Health

Enlarge / Cue Health's at-home molecular diagnostic test amplifies and detects viral RNA from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Plenty of things have changed in the two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, think about how many people now know the difference between a rapid antigen test and a nucleic acid amplification test. Whether it's for work, travel, or just peace of mind, a lot of us are a lot more familiar with having our nasal cavities poked than we used to be.

In fact, COVID diagnostics even invaded yesterday's Super Bowl with an advertisement for a small LED-equipped white box from a company called Cue Health. The company has developed a fast and accurate at-home diagnostic test, and thanks to a proctored mode, in which your test is supervised by a doctor, its results will be accepted for things like international travel.

For those who don't know their PCRs from their LFTs, here's a quick primer. A rapid antigen test (also sometimes called a lateral flow test) looks for certain proteins from the surface of the virus. These tests are relatively cheap to produce and easy to use. They're the kind that state and federal governments have made available to people for free.

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