Reducing diagnostic delays has become a common goal across laboratory medicine, whether the challenge is identifying a life-threatening fungal infection, distinguishing inflammatory disease from mechanical pain, or delivering laboratory-quality testing outside the central lab. While the technologies may differ, the objective is the same: provide clinicians with actionable results sooner to guide patient care.
That shared focus connects the three finalists for the 2026 Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) Disruptive Technology Award, each of which is advancing a different approach to addressing long-standing gaps in diagnostic testing.
Faster answers for complex clinical decisions
For many diseases, delays stem from the limitations of today's diagnostic tools rather than a lack of available therapies. Existing tests may require invasive sampling, multiple assays, or extended turnaround times, making it more difficult for clinicians to confidently diagnose and treat patients.
The three finalists aim to address those challenges by improving speed, expanding diagnostic information from a single sample, or bringing high-quality testing closer to the patient.
Expanding what's possible from a blood sample
Anvil Diagnostics is targeting one of infectious disease diagnostics' most persistent challenges with MycoScan™, a digital PCR (dPCR)-based blood test designed to identify more than 41 fungal species directly from plasma in less than four hours.
The assay uses patent-pending semi-specific primers to generate multi-locus DNA "fingerprints" from fragmented cell-free pathogen DNA, allowing software to distinguish fungal species on standard dPCR instruments already installed in many hospital laboratories. According to the company, analytical validation demonstrated a limit of detection of one genome copy or less per assay for seven key fungal species, greater than 93.3% analytical specificity, and successful detection of clinically important fungal genera.
Anvil is initially developing MycoScan as a research use only assay while continuing toward FDA clearance. Early pilot studies at three hospitals are evaluating performance in patient samples, with one site reporting concordance with a market-leading next-generation sequencing assay across eight initial samples.
Anvil Diagnostics Inc.
"We're honored to be named a finalist for ADLM's Disruptive Technology Award. It's strong validation as we prepare to launch MycoScan to address a real need for simple yet comprehensive fungal detection,” said Pavan Kota, cofounder and CEO of Anvil Diagnostics, in an email to Today's Clinical Lab. “MycoScan is also just the beginning, bringing together innovations in data science and molecular biology to enable highly multiplexed and routine liquid biopsies through widely deployed digital PCR platforms.”
Helping identify inflammatory disease sooner
Augurex Life Sciences is addressing a different diagnostic challenge: the years-long delay many patients experience before receiving a diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), an inflammatory disease whose symptoms are often mistaken for mechanical back pain.
Its SPINEstat® Immunoassay is a first-in-class, blood-based multiplex autoantibody test that measures antibodies to the joint-derived protein 14-3-3eta. Designed to complement existing tools such as C-reactive protein testing, HLA-B27 analysis, and imaging, the assay provides an additional biological signal to help differentiate inflammatory from mechanical back pain.
Augurex Life Sciences
SPINEstat has received regulatory approval in Canada and Great Britain and recently received Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Being selected as a finalist for the ADLM Disruptive Technology Award is a meaningful endorsement of the work our team has done in solving one of the most persistent challenges in rheumatology,” said Neil Klompas, president and CEO of Augurex Life Sciences, in an email to Today's Clinical Lab. “The recognition from ADLM affirms that the diagnostic community sees the same urgent need we do, and we look forward to presenting SPINEstat® in Anaheim.”
Bringing laboratory-quality testing closer to patients
Rather than focusing on a single disease area, Kompass Diagnostics is developing a platform intended to decentralize laboratory testing.
Its palm-sized multimodal electrical transduction platform, IDA, combines chemistry, immunoassay, and molecular diagnostics in a single device capable of analyzing finger-prick whole blood samples in approximately 10 minutes. The company's first application is a rapid multi-hormone assay for fertility care, where shorter turnaround times could support time-sensitive treatment decisions.
Kompass Diagnostics
Kompass also reports analytical performance across additional applications, including femtogram-per-milliliter detection of HIV p24 and rapid molecular detection of hepatitis B virus, illustrating the platform's potential to support a broader menu of near-patient tests.
“Throughout the history of diagnostics, every major technological advancement has expanded access to healthcare, from centralized laboratory automation to point-of-care testing. We believe the next leap is to extend high-quality diagnostics beyond the clinic and into the home,” said Mingoo Kim, CEO of Kompass Diagnostics, in an email to Today's Clinical Lab.
“We’re building a new electrical sensing architecture that translates biological signals directly into electrical outputs, enabling chemistry, immunoassay, and molecular diagnostics on a single platform,” Kim said. “Our mission is to overcome the long-standing tradeoff between analytical performance and accessibility. We envision a future where laboratory-quality diagnostics are truly portable, affordable, and scalable, helping expand access to healthcare regardless of where patients live.”
A shared direction for laboratory innovation
Although the three finalists target different clinical needs, together they reflect a broader trend in laboratory medicine: reducing the time between testing and clinical action. Whether by improving the diagnostic yield of blood-based testing, introducing new biomarkers for difficult-to-diagnose conditions, or extending laboratory-quality performance beyond the central laboratory, each technology aims to give clinicians faster, more actionable information.
The winner of the 2026 ADLM Disruptive Technology Award will be announced during the ADLM 2026 Disruptive Technology Award special session on Monday, July 27, 2026, from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
