GoStix Plus FAQs

You can download the GoStix Plus app from the App Store or Google Play. Search for "GoStix Plus".

The app works on all Apple iPhones using iOS 13.0 or later, and on Apple iPod Touch using iOS13.0 or later. Android smartphones using Android 9 and up are also supported.

Please note: the GoStix Plus app has not been validated for use with tablets.

When you first use the app, you will need to connect your device to the internet so that the standard curves for available lots of the kit can be downloaded into the app. The app uses the lot-specific standard curve to calculate the GV. When you purchase a new lot of GoStix, make sure to reconnect your device to the internet so that the standard curves for new lots can applied to your app.

For other commonly used quantitation methods such as ELISAs and qRT-PCR assays, you always need to compare your test sample to a standard curve that you generate. This is not required for GoStix Plus assays because the standard curve for each lot is generated by Takara Bio and loaded onto the app when you open it and connect your mobile device to the internet. In addition to saving you time and money, this also ensures the accuracy of assay results between lots and experiments.

In order to generate accurate data, the app requires that you enter the lot number because different lots of GoStix cassettes yield slightly different standard curves (similar to an ELISA). The lot number can be entered by scanning the QR code located on the GoStix cassette pouch, or it can be entered manually.

The test will not give consistent results if the full development time is not observed and you will not be able to accurately compare your result to previously tested samples. A warning within the app will appear if the Skip button is pressed before 10 minutes have elapsed on the timer.

Yes. Your results will be saved in “Result history” view (accessible from the main menu), provided that you do not delete the app. To avoid losing data, we recommend emailing yourself the data by pressing the [Share] button at the bottom of each data set page, as indicated by the green arrow in the first screenshot below. You can also download all of your data to your mobile device by pressing the [Download all] button in the upper-right portion of "Result history", as indicated by the green arrow in the second screenshot below. Instructions for retrieving your downloaded data are provided under a subsequent question, below.

Please follow the iOS- or Android-specific instructions provided below to retrieve your data after downloading it to your device.

iOS mobile devices using a Mac computer

1. Plug iPhone into Mac computer
2. Open a Finder window
3. In the left-hand navigation, under “Locations”, select your mobile device
4. Select files
5. Expand the row listing for the GoStix Plus app
6. Copy the “Download” folder to your desired destination
7. A .csv file containing the downloaded data can be retrieved from the “Download” folder at the specified location

iOS mobile devices using a Windows computer (with iTunes)

1. Plug iPhone into Windows computer
2. Open iTunes
3. Select the phone icon on the iTunes toolbar located in the upper-left corner of the window
4. Select "File Sharing" in the left-hand navigation
5. From the list, select the GoStix Plus app
6. Select the "Download" folder, then click [Save] and specify a destination
7. A .csv file containing the downloaded data can be retrieved from the “Download” folder at the specified location

Android mobile devices

1. Open the File Explorer app on the mobile device
2. Select "Downloads"
3. A .csv file containing the downloaded data will be available

Yes. Depending on the language settings for your mobile device, the GoStix Plus app will display text in English, Japanese, Mandarin, or Korean. To override your device settings and have the app display text in English, navigate to the "About" page and select [Reset language settings].

Please note that it may be necessary to select UTF-8 encoding in Excel to properly view characters for languages other than English in the output .csv files containing results data.