Kroger Health to offer smartphone-enabled, at-home COVID test

Kroger Health, the health care division of The Kroger Company, 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.

Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health, says 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, she adds. 

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, says Lindholz.

To use the test, patients follow 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. To fulfill legal reporting requirements, the consumer-friendly app seamlessly also shares the reliable, secure results with appropriate public health agencies.

The test, developed by Gauss and Cellex, a biotechnology company specializing in rapid diagnostics, is powered by an encrypted 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.