I started Visby Medical to solve the problem that at any given moment, millions of people are waiting for a diagnosis—often waiting for days when it should be minutes. I set out to create a tiny diagnostic tool with the gold standard accuracy of PCR but, unlike big central lab instruments, could deliver results fast, in minutes, so the clinician can make a data-driven decision. I wanted to create a diagnostic tool which would be small and portable enough to work anywhere, with no separate instrumentation, and which would be simple enough to be used by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The beauty of the Visby Medical platform isn’t just the accuracy and size of the device, but also the speed which enables doctors to maximize their time with patients, during that key initial visit. So, rather than spending precious time guessing, Visby Medical enables clinicians to spend time having a real conversation with the patient, listening and making a real connection, with real impact on public health and clinicians too. As a professor at Stanford Medical school, this is the standard of care we all aspire to: the ability to treat the whole patient — not just the disease.

Visby is important to the world and to business, not only because it has achieved unbelievable advances in PCR testing and diagnostics in general, but also because it is a purpose-driven company — and that is the future. Visby is among the first in a new era of purpose-driven companies helping to ensure free enterprise builds a better world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital importance of very accurate, quick-response, single-use tests. With them, lives can return to normal both in developed and developing countries without causing numerous casualties. Visby’s team has shown how brilliant entrepreneurship can bring groundbreaking innovation in testing, not just for COVID-19, but for all infectious diseases, now and in the future.

Visby has solved one of the most important problems in testing. Now the most extraordinary diagnostic technology, PCR, is simple and accessible. This is an enormous advancement in putting healthcare in the hands of people.

PCR, when appropriately applied, generates a highly sensitive and precise result. Visby’s PCR technology is so sensitive that it will pick up a signal that is likely to otherwise be missed. They have miniaturized PCR, validating it in the most rigorous fashion that satisfies both the compliance agencies as well as practicing physicians. This is a very important patient-friendly advance, which will lead to a new class of point of care diagnostics.