
ADLM Diagnostics Innovation and COVID Testing
In this Bio Break episode, Nick Allan and Nigel Syrotuck reflect on recent ADLM diagnostics innovation and how it has shaped the future of clinical testing. The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) recently wrapped its annual showcase in Chicago, and as always, it left a strong impression on the medtech community.
While discussing highlights from the show, Nick and Nigel zero in on a perfect case study of ADLM diagnostics innovation: the evolution of COVID-19 testing. From the early days of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to the familiar lateral flow tests we now perform at home, diagnostics have become faster, simpler, and more accessible. This transformation—from complex lab environments to point-of-care and even bathroom-counter diagnostics—was on full display at ADLM.
From the Lab to the Bathroom Counter
As Nick points out, one of the most remarkable shifts in diagnostics is how complicated procedures have been distilled into everyday routines. What once required trained technicians in controlled environments can now be done at home, often with little more than a test strip and a timer. The lateral flow transformation is a clear example of how ADLM’s influence and technology leadership help shape the direction of consumer-friendly diagnostics.
Related Resources

Accelerated aging in medical devices is a testing method used to estimate how a product will perform over time by exposing it to elevated conditions, most often heat. In simple terms, it is a way to simulate months or years of aging in a much shorter timeframe.

In a recent article for MD+DI, StarFish Medical Software Manager Sean Daniel explores how remote medical devices reliability is becoming a defining challenge as devices move beyond traditional clinical environments into homes, workplaces, and public settings.

This medical vs wellness example shows how device classification can directly change functionality. Even when hardware is similar, what the device is allowed to do can be very different.

Modern medical devices are no longer confined to hospital settings. Wearable cardiac monitors, home respiratory systems, and remote patient monitoring devices now operate within broader digital health networks.