At-home molecular testing
November 12, 2024 7:45 AM Subscribe
I seem to remember someone here recommending a tabletop at-home device for Covid testing (maybe NAAT?) that’s approved in the European market but not in the US. Can someone here remind me?
Context: We’ve got an ambiguous rapid antigen test result for COVID in our house. The line is so faint that it is not pink or red, although two out of three of us see something there, like a shadow. We’d hoped to confirm with PCR so we can plan (eg what are the chances we’ll need to cancel our Thanksgiving trip to see my elderly mother in her nursing home?) but we learned that molecular testing isn’t offered in our region anymore.
I know that I might not be able to buy anything that is immediately useful for this situation, but since Covid isn’t going anywhere, maybe this is worth an investment. We do plan to follow up with more RATs over the next few days.
We do know that CDC guidelines don’t require us to care. I’m not worried for my kid at all, she’s only mildly ill. I just want to do the right things to limit spread, here and in future.
Context: We’ve got an ambiguous rapid antigen test result for COVID in our house. The line is so faint that it is not pink or red, although two out of three of us see something there, like a shadow. We’d hoped to confirm with PCR so we can plan (eg what are the chances we’ll need to cancel our Thanksgiving trip to see my elderly mother in her nursing home?) but we learned that molecular testing isn’t offered in our region anymore.
I know that I might not be able to buy anything that is immediately useful for this situation, but since Covid isn’t going anywhere, maybe this is worth an investment. We do plan to follow up with more RATs over the next few days.
We do know that CDC guidelines don’t require us to care. I’m not worried for my kid at all, she’s only mildly ill. I just want to do the right things to limit spread, here and in future.
And an "ambiguous" test is ... positive. Sorry. You can confirm with a zoomed-in photo.
Pretty likely she'll be ok by Turkey Day, but definitely keep her away from other household members you'd also like to attend Turkey.
posted by Dashy at 7:53 AM on November 12 [3 favorites]
Pretty likely she'll be ok by Turkey Day, but definitely keep her away from other household members you'd also like to attend Turkey.
posted by Dashy at 7:53 AM on November 12 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: That was fast! I love metafilter!
How could someone in the USA get ahold of one of these? I’m assuming I can’t just buy something on Amazon that’s not licensed here.
We’re definitely treating her as a presumptive positive for now, masking / windows / filtration / isolation / etc. Zooming in with a phone is a good idea. The repeat tests should give us better info also.
posted by eirias at 7:57 AM on November 12
How could someone in the USA get ahold of one of these? I’m assuming I can’t just buy something on Amazon that’s not licensed here.
We’re definitely treating her as a presumptive positive for now, masking / windows / filtration / isolation / etc. Zooming in with a phone is a good idea. The repeat tests should give us better info also.
posted by eirias at 7:57 AM on November 12
It took a few weeks for shipping/customs from Germany. You buy the machine + the test strips from Altruan directly.
There seemed to be some kind of discount code that someone on reddit has -- worth doing some clicking to see (I only noticed this after I bought it).
I'll keep my fingers crossed for your holiday. I'm so much happier/relieved to be able to test for gatherings.
posted by Dashy at 8:10 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
There seemed to be some kind of discount code that someone on reddit has -- worth doing some clicking to see (I only noticed this after I bought it).
I'll keep my fingers crossed for your holiday. I'm so much happier/relieved to be able to test for gatherings.
posted by Dashy at 8:10 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
If you're in the US why not just get a single-use Lucira for now, if it'll arrive in time? (Probably the day after tomorrow via [sigh] Amazon.)
posted by wintersweet at 8:34 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
posted by wintersweet at 8:34 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
Best answer: More about the PlusLife at virus.sucks.
posted by brainwane at 9:24 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 9:24 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
I have been very happy with Aptitude Medical's NAAT Metrix tests. Reader costs US$50, each test is $25, and they do take 30 minutes instead of 15 for an antigen test. But of course they are highly accurate. Ships from the US. Not sure why anyone would want a European one, as far as I understand the basic technology is the same.
posted by wnissen at 10:55 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
posted by wnissen at 10:55 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]
Yes, there's a discount count but you can't get it publicly but gotta get it through backchannels. DM me and I could pass along the last one I knew about, or ask if there's any updated ones.
wnissen: I haven't gotten the PlusLife yet and still rely on my Metrix, but the advantages of the PlusLife I have heard about are:
* You can have an app that will let you see what the test is doing, the actual lines of the detection curve, in a way that lets you interpret a more ambiguous result, or a result that is probably a very faint positive, in a better way than the stark yes/no of the Metrix
* It's easier to do pooled testing--that is, one test that is covering multiple people.
* The pooling plus the lower cost per test can make it much cheaper over the long run if you do a lot of testing despite the higher initial cost outlay
posted by foxfirefey at 11:02 AM on November 12 [2 favorites]
wnissen: I haven't gotten the PlusLife yet and still rely on my Metrix, but the advantages of the PlusLife I have heard about are:
* You can have an app that will let you see what the test is doing, the actual lines of the detection curve, in a way that lets you interpret a more ambiguous result, or a result that is probably a very faint positive, in a better way than the stark yes/no of the Metrix
* It's easier to do pooled testing--that is, one test that is covering multiple people.
* The pooling plus the lower cost per test can make it much cheaper over the long run if you do a lot of testing despite the higher initial cost outlay
posted by foxfirefey at 11:02 AM on November 12 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I have been very happy with Aptitude Medical's NAAT Metrix tests. Reader costs US$50, each test is $25, and they do take 30 minutes instead of 15 for an antigen test. But of course they are highly accurate. Ships from the US. Not sure why anyone would want a European one, as far as I understand the basic technology is the same.
Ha, well, in my case it’s because I had three reasonably reputable people (my doctor’s office, my local public health department, and the guy at Walgreens) tell me that no molecular test option exists in the US anymore, unless your doctor decides it is necessary for your individual health (which it is not in this case, and I expect never will be)! This was after clarifying to them that I’m willing to pay out of pocket. If this is genuinely still for sale to Americans, I’m glad to know it! Though it would be nice in that case if local experts were better informed…
posted by eirias at 11:22 AM on November 12
Ha, well, in my case it’s because I had three reasonably reputable people (my doctor’s office, my local public health department, and the guy at Walgreens) tell me that no molecular test option exists in the US anymore, unless your doctor decides it is necessary for your individual health (which it is not in this case, and I expect never will be)! This was after clarifying to them that I’m willing to pay out of pocket. If this is genuinely still for sale to Americans, I’m glad to know it! Though it would be nice in that case if local experts were better informed…
posted by eirias at 11:22 AM on November 12
Best answer: eirias, the FDA mentions a few molecular tests but their display makes it a little hard to work out which of these are direct-to-consumer - I know of Metrix and 3EO as two of them that are FDA-authorized and available for direct sale to individuals.
The Metrix's reader is cheaper than PlusLife, but individual tests are more expensive.
Metrix takes more hand strength to click components together, and arm endurance to shake a small item for longer, but requires less fine motor control and vision -- PlusLife requires significant fine motor control and vision.
One Metrix test results in more waste (including an electronic component I feel bad throwing away) than 1 PlusLife test. But doing a PlusLife test involves a momentarily open vial of liquid that can damage flesh and property (see the https://virus.sucks FAQ for more) so one needs to be more careful with capping and disposal.
I've only used the Metrix connected to mains power; a friend has successfully powered the reader with a USB-C cable and a battery, but another friend says that didn’t work for them. PlusLife works fine connected to a power bank/battery.
Shipping Metrix readers and tests to a US address is much easier than doing so with PlusLife.
Aptitude promises to replace failed Metrix tests that fail because of manufacturer error (they give you a credit on a future purchase) and I know at least one person who's successfully done that. If you live in Europe or North America, I think you'd probably be ordering PlusLife from distributor Altruan rather than the manufacturer; I'm not sure of any similar guarantee.
posted by brainwane at 11:45 AM on November 12 [2 favorites]
The Metrix's reader is cheaper than PlusLife, but individual tests are more expensive.
Metrix takes more hand strength to click components together, and arm endurance to shake a small item for longer, but requires less fine motor control and vision -- PlusLife requires significant fine motor control and vision.
One Metrix test results in more waste (including an electronic component I feel bad throwing away) than 1 PlusLife test. But doing a PlusLife test involves a momentarily open vial of liquid that can damage flesh and property (see the https://virus.sucks FAQ for more) so one needs to be more careful with capping and disposal.
I've only used the Metrix connected to mains power; a friend has successfully powered the reader with a USB-C cable and a battery, but another friend says that didn’t work for them. PlusLife works fine connected to a power bank/battery.
Shipping Metrix readers and tests to a US address is much easier than doing so with PlusLife.
Aptitude promises to replace failed Metrix tests that fail because of manufacturer error (they give you a credit on a future purchase) and I know at least one person who's successfully done that. If you live in Europe or North America, I think you'd probably be ordering PlusLife from distributor Altruan rather than the manufacturer; I'm not sure of any similar guarantee.
posted by brainwane at 11:45 AM on November 12 [2 favorites]
Your medical professionals may have been misinformed because Cue was the big player in at-home molecular tests that anyone with the scratch could buy and use in the early pandemic, and they very spectacularly crashed and burned recently.
posted by potrzebie at 1:53 PM on November 12 [1 favorite]
posted by potrzebie at 1:53 PM on November 12 [1 favorite]
I also have the PlusLife discount codes - MeMail me if foxfirefay can’t find for you.
You might find this how to useful.
And some in-depth info about accuracy in Nature.
FWIW I also have one and love it. Previously had Lucira and did not love.
posted by t0astie at 12:23 AM on November 13 [1 favorite]
You might find this how to useful.
And some in-depth info about accuracy in Nature.
FWIW I also have one and love it. Previously had Lucira and did not love.
posted by t0astie at 12:23 AM on November 13 [1 favorite]
One good thing about Lucira:
since the test is 1 single unit, it's easier to parallelize testing. You can buy one and give it to someone else ahead of time so they can test at home before coming over to your place for Thanksgiving. You can buy several and have 5 participants simultaneously test upon arrival at an event.
In contrast, with Metrix or PlusLife, you are restricted by the number of reader devices you have. (I have not yet engaged in pool testing, which does help for simultaneous testing in 1 location, but doesn't help if you want multiple people to test in different locations.)
posted by brainwane at 7:13 AM on November 13
since the test is 1 single unit, it's easier to parallelize testing. You can buy one and give it to someone else ahead of time so they can test at home before coming over to your place for Thanksgiving. You can buy several and have 5 participants simultaneously test upon arrival at an event.
In contrast, with Metrix or PlusLife, you are restricted by the number of reader devices you have. (I have not yet engaged in pool testing, which does help for simultaneous testing in 1 location, but doesn't help if you want multiple people to test in different locations.)
posted by brainwane at 7:13 AM on November 13
Response by poster: Follow-up: We obtained three similarly ambiguous tests over the course of two and a half days, so we shelled out $40 for the Lucira at our local Walgreens. Negative on all of Covid, flu A, flu B.
What is most interesting about this is that even the pharmacist at Walgreens explicitly told me they did not have molecular tests available — but they were right on the shelf.
posted by eirias at 8:32 PM on November 13
What is most interesting about this is that even the pharmacist at Walgreens explicitly told me they did not have molecular tests available — but they were right on the shelf.
posted by eirias at 8:32 PM on November 13
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There's a bunch of useful posts on reddit/ZeroCovid about it.
posted by Dashy at 7:51 AM on November 12 [1 favorite]