You load the sample into a closed cartridge and the analyser handles nucleic acid extraction and amplification on its own. You give the owner the result during the visit, not in two or three days.
The Nous30V is an automated real-time qPCR analyser. Four fluorescence channels (FAM, HEX, ROX, Cy5) let a single cartridge pick up as many as four targets at once, so one cartridge covers a whole clinical syndrome rather than a single pathogen. Two independent slots mean two samples at a time, each with a different panel if you like, up to eight targets per run.
It takes up 0.04 m³, weighs 16 kg and fits on an ordinary bench. The analyser identifies the cartridge itself from its QR code — there is no test to pick from a menu.
EDTA whole blood, swabs (oropharyngeal, nasopharyngeal, ocular, anal), ascites, pleural effusion, cerebrospinal fluid, faeces, urine, serum, sputum and, once homogenised, tissue.
Input volume 50 to 600 µl, or 100 µl for blood.
Extraction runs on magnetic beads rather than membrane filters, which clog with cellular debris when you work with faeces or haemolysed blood. Magnetic beads do not have that problem, so the analyser handles PCR inhibitors in faecal samples as well.
An introduction to the analyser and the platform.
Preparing the cartridge: checking the reagents, assembly and loading the sample.
Testing: scanning the QR code, loading two cartridges into slots P1 and P2 and starting the run.
Reagent preparation takes 40 seconds, loading the sample 5 seconds, setting up the analyser 15 seconds, and then it is 40 minutes of automated analysis. The procedure is the same for every panel; only the first step, the collection itself, differs.
The whole reaction takes place in a closed cartridge sealed with mineral oil. Mixing is contactless, by rotating magnets, so there is no pipetting and nothing is opened.
The chamber has UV-C sterilisation and membrane air filtration. Free DNA does not spread through the practice, so PCR does not need a room of its own.
There are cheaper instruments on the market that use isothermal amplification, running at a single constant temperature of around 60 °C. The reaction has no thermal cycles, primers anneal less specifically, and the result is more prone to both false positives and false negatives.
The Nous30V is conventional real-time PCR. Each cycle runs through three temperatures: DNA denaturation at roughly 95 °C, primer annealing at around 55 to 60 °C and synthesis at 72 °C, with fluorescence measured after every cycle. It is the same method reference laboratories use.
| Isothermal amplification | Real-time PCR (Nous30V) | |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | A single constant temperature around 60 °C | Three temperatures per cycle, measured after every cycle |
| Specificity | Primers anneal less specifically | Distinguishes even closely related pathogens |
| Multiplexing | Limited | Four targets per cartridge, eight per run |
| Quantification | Not possible | The Ct value shows the pathogen load |
| Genetic tests | Generally not offered | PKD and HCM in cats |
The range is built around syndromes: respiratory and diarrhoeal panels, anaemia, vector-borne and tick-borne infections, intake screening for breeding units and shelters, and zoonoses. Alongside those there are single-pathogen assays and feline genetics. Beyond dogs and cats there are panels for horses, birds and pigs.
| Cat. no. | Panel and what it detects | Targets |
|---|
Each box holds four tests. The reagents in the cartridge are lyophilised, stored at 2 to 30 °C and good for 12 months. No fridge or freezer is needed — take the cartridge out of the box and use it straight away.
The cartridge detects the PKD1 genotype and includes an internal control. Reported prevalence is 40 to 48 % in Persian cats and 9 to 14 % in other breeds. Exotic Shorthair and British Shorthair are also at risk.
A single cartridge distinguishes three genotypes at once: MyBPC3-A31P (Maine Coon, prevalence 34 to 41 %), MyBPC3-R820W (Ragdoll, 27.4 %) and ALMS1 (Sphynx), again with an internal control.
Both from EDTA blood; for HCM a cheek swab also works. Result during the visit.
The analyser is approved by the Institute for State Control of Veterinary Biologicals and Medicines and has been through the process for placing a veterinary technical device on the market under § 16 of Act No. 17/2018 Coll. Full documentation for the Slovak and European markets is available.
We bring the analyser to you, set it up and run an agreed number and type of tests on the spot. If you need to test for longer, we can arrange a loan of up to a week. Just agree a date with us.
