TriAct
Better decisions today. Earlier warnings tomorrow.
An open, connected diagnostic platform for routine respiratory care and emerging threats.
TriAct is a proposed low-cost reader and software platform designed to bring host-response testing, compatible rapid pathogen tests and decision support into frontline care.
The first application being assessed is nasal host-response testing for respiratory illness. Over time, the platform could accommodate additional compatible tests as they become available, connecting everyday testing with outbreak readiness.
The problem
Frontline teams need to act before they have all the answers.
When a patient arrives with respiratory symptoms, care teams need to decide on precautions, further investigation and next steps. Tests for familiar pathogens can help, but negative results can leave the illness unexplained.
During an emerging outbreak, tests for the new pathogen may not yet exist. Even when they become available, getting them into frontline use requires compatible equipment, supplies, trained staff and established workflows.
Meanwhile, unusual cases may be distributed across facilities, making a shared pattern difficult to recognize.
The opportunity is to establish a useful testing platform before an outbreak—one that supports immediate decisions in routine care and can adapt as new tests and threats emerge.
The concept
Assess illness. Adapt testing. Connect the signals.
TriAct would combine a low-cost optical reader with software for test interpretation, quality checks, result recording and next-step guidance.
The first application being assessed is a nasal host-response test, potentially using CXCL10, to provide information about the body’s antiviral response before the cause of illness is known. The result would be interpreted alongside symptoms, clinical assessment and available pathogen tests to help guide precautions and further investigation.
TriAct would not use host response to identify a particular pathogen. Where appropriate, the workflow could preserve a respiratory specimen for downstream molecular testing, culture or sequencing.
The longer-term platform would be designed to accommodate additional compatible rapid tests, including tests developed in response to an emerging threat. Each assay and interpretation would require appropriate compatibility assessment and validation.
01
Assess illness before the cause is known
Host-response tests measure the body’s response to infection rather than looking for one particular pathogen.
TriAct’s first application would assess whether a nasal host-response signal can help clinicians evaluate unexplained respiratory illness and decide on precautions, further pathogen testing or routine care.
The feasibility program will determine the appropriate biomarker, intended use, performance requirements and clinical setting.
02
Adapt testing as new threats emerge
Design the reader and software to support multiple compatible rapid tests, with a defined process for evaluating and introducing additional assays.
The aim is to make new tests easier to bring into an established frontline workflow as they become available.
The first product does not need to support every assay. Compatibility would be developed and validated test by test.
03
Connect testing with action and surveillance
Support care teams with test-quality checks, consistent result recording and guidance linked to clinical pathways.
Where feasible, preserve samples requiring further pathogen identification and connect the initial result with downstream testing.
Across participating facilities, connected results could eventually help identify unusual patterns of unexplained illness that warrant investigation, subject to appropriate validation, data governance and public-health partnerships.
Why it matters
Useful every respiratory season. Ready to adapt when the situation changes.
TriAct must first earn its place in routine care through useful testing, better-supported decisions and simpler interpretation and documentation.
That everyday use could establish a foundation for preparedness: readers already deployed, staff familiar with the workflow and testing pathways already active.
Host-response testing could provide an initial assessment signal while a new pathogen remains unidentified or specific tests are unavailable. Preserved samples could support further identification. Connected results could help investigators recognize patterns across sites.
As new assays become available, the platform could provide an established route for evaluating and introducing compatible tests.
Next phase
Define and assess the first clinical application.
Acta Labs is shaping the product concept and feasibility program, bringing together clinical requirements, assay and reader options, and a development and evaluation plan.
We welcome clinical, technical and funding partners interested in developing and testing the approach together.