ams innovation in medical sensing technology recognized with three Elektra Awards nominations

Premstaetten, Austria (March 3, 2021) -- ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, announces that it is shortlisted for three Elektra awards in recognition of recent breakthroughs made by the company in medical sensing technology. Two ams optical sensors have separately been shortlisted for the Award for Excellence in Product Design (Medical), while the company’s Advanced Optical Sensors division is shortlisted in the Award for Design Team of the Year. Used in point-of-care and wearable-device applications, they make an important contribution to Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic control and blood oxygen saturation monitoring. Winners of the UK’s prestigious Elektra awards (www.elektraawards.co.uk/), hosted by Electronics Weekly, are due to be announced on 25 March. 

Shortlist: Award for Excellence in Product Design (Medical), Elektra Awards 2020

First, the AS7038RB vital sign sensor enables the creation of wearable and disposable equipment to accurately and safely measure blood oxygen saturation (SpO2). The sensor can continuously monitor SpO2 on all skin types in wearable devices such as earbuds and patches. The high optical performance of the AS7038RB means that it can be used in medical-grade patient monitoring products, such as the disposable patches used for SpO2 and electro-cardiogram (ECG) measurement in hospital emergency rooms and remote patient monitoring.
Second, ams’ innovation through the miniaturized and cost-effective AS7341L spectral sensor technology is another game changer for healthcare applications. Enabling rapid test devices to detect colorimetric and fluorescence spectral information through a tiny, yet powerful, optical sensor supports wide-spread testing for Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) antigens and antibodies as well as flu, other viruses or other target analytes with the potential for a global health crisis at disposable cost levels.

Shortlist: Design Team of the Year Award, Elektra Awards 2020

Development of the technology for Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnostic test kits based on the AS7341L has brought ams’ Advanced Optical Sensors division its third shortlisted place, in the Award for Design Team of the Year. With the division’s Executive Vice President and General Manager Jennifer Zhao at the helm, the global team in Europe, North America and Asia is reimagining ams spectral sensing technologies for use in devices which provide rapid testing for Covid-19. The team is working with companies around the world on solutions that will help detect the presence of both Covid-19 antigens and antibodies sooner and deliver results in as little as 15 minutes. 
For instance, a partnership between ams and Senova, a manufacturer of in vitro diagnostic medical devices, is creating a disposable electronic lateral flow test for measuring antibodies against the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. The device, using lateral flow technology coupled with the AS7341L, enables a read-out that is accurate, cost effective, quantitative, and provides an objective result which requires no user interpretation. 

For further information on ams health sensing technologies including point-of-care diagnostics, medical imaging and vital signs monitoring, our new video on the ams 15-minute rapid test for Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2), and a list of customer implementations using the AS7341L, see: https://ams.com/medical-health.