CINCINNATI, Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kroger Health,
the health care division of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), today
announced plans to offer the first smartphone-enabled, at-home
Gauss COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kit to patients nationwide,
expanding the company's existing portfolio of in-clinic and
employer-focused COVID-19 testing solutions.
The new at-home testing solution, which is currently awaiting
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization
(EUA), will offer affordable access to cutting-edge testing
technology developed by Gauss, a leader in computer vision-aided
healthcare diagnostics. Once authorized, it will be the first rapid
COVID-19 test that can be fully performed using only a smartphone
and a lateral flow assay (similar to an at-home pregnancy test),
without involving a laboratory, a telemedicine visit or any
specialized electronics. Last month, Gauss produced its first 1.5
million tests, which will be available for immediate distribution
when the test receives EUA from the FDA, and the company has the
capability to produce up to 30 million tests per month.
Kroger Health expects the at-home rapid antigen test will be
available to purchase on Kroger.com and over the counter at its
2,200 pharmacies nationwide.
"Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kroger Heath has remained committed to helping
people live healthier lives by offering a variety of COVID-19
testing solutions supported by our multi-disciplinary team of
licensed, trained and experienced healthcare providers," said
Colleen Lindholz, president of
Kroger Health. "We're proud to partner with Gauss to expand our
COVIDCare+ suite with the forthcoming launch of this affordable,
innovative solution."
To use the test, patients follow simple step-by-step video
instructions in an app to properly collect the nasal swab and
complete the rapid antigen test. After 15 minutes, the app prompts
the patient to scan their rapid test. The app uses patent-pending,
artificial-intelligence-based technology to provide patients with
their results in seconds, helping minimize reader variability. To
fulfill legal reporting requirements, the consumer-friendly app
seamlessly also shares the reliable, secure and HIPAA-compliant
results with appropriate public health agencies.
"Public health leaders agree that people need access to
on-demand, reliable, rapid testing in their own homes, and that's
exactly what our test delivers," said Siddarth Satish, Gauss Founder and CEO. "As a
trusted resource for COVID-19 related solutions with a broad
national footprint, Kroger Health is an ideal partner to
dramatically expand access for millions of Americans through our
smartphone-powered, at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test."
The test, developed by Gauss and Cellex, Inc., a biotechnology
company specializing in rapid diagnostics, is powered by an
encrypted, HIPAA-compliant, easy-to-use smartphone app developed by
Gauss's team of clinical and technology leaders. According to
results of a clinical trial submitted to the FDA in support of the
solutions EUA application, the testing solution demonstrated a 93%
positive agreement and 99% negative percent agreement compared to
high-sensitivity, emergency-use-authorized PCR tests.
Kroger Health offers a variety of COVID-19 testing solutions,
including viral and antibody testing. Learn more
at Kroger.com/CovidCare.
Media Assets
To download images of the Gauss COVID-19
Rapid Antigen Test Kit, please
visit here.
About Kroger Health:
Kroger Health, the healthcare
division of The Kroger Co., is one of America's leading retail
healthcare organizations, with over 2,200 pharmacies and 220
clinics in 35 states serving more than 14 million customers. Our
team of 22,000 healthcare practitioners – from pharmacists and
nurse practitioners, to dietitians and technicians – are committed
to helping people live healthier lives. We believe in practicing at
the top of our licenses and enabling "food as medicine" to help
prevent or manage certain diseases. We are dedicated to providing
testing, vaccination and wellness services to help Americans combat
the COVID-19 crisis. Learn more at Kroger.com/CovidCare.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are
Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the
Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half
a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily
through a seamless shopping experience under a variety
of banner names. We are committed to creating
#ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us,
visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
About Gauss:
Gauss is a leader in computer vision in
healthcare. Founded in 2011, Gauss's mission is to digitally
augment clinicians with software that radically improves diagnostic
accuracy and leads to improved patient safety and clinical
outcomes. Gauss's flagship product, Triton, leverages computer
vision on the iPhone to monitor surgical and obstetric bleeding in
real time and notifies clinicians who can enact timely intervention
and treatment for hemorrhage. Triton was granted De Novo clearance
from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014, as the
first-ever computer vision software for surgical use and has
been widely adopted by health systems across the United States. Gauss is a recipient of the
Apple Design Award, which recognizes the best in design, innovation
and technology on Apple platforms. In September 2020, Gauss announced a partnership
with Cellex, Inc. to develop one of the first rapid, at-home tests
for COVID-19. Gauss is based in Menlo
Park, CA and is backed by SoftBank Ventures, Promus
Ventures, the Stanford-StartX Fund, and the strategic innovation
arms of several US health systems. For more information, visit
www.gauss.com.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.