Test Assurance Group
During the Covid-19 crisis, Test Assurance Group (TAG) was set up to provide a mass screening programme for C19 Antibodies and Antigens to assist HMG and other major employers to plan their return to work programmes. Most major Pharmaceutical companies provided Rapid Test kits to provide the diagnosis but the real challenge for HMG and other major employers was how to process, read and record the results on a massive but secure scale.
Although TAG initially had to prove concept using a manual testing process, the only viable large scale mechanism was the CAL SmartLab system. This however did not solve the entire TAG requirement as, due to the massive scale of potential clients and wide variety of potential test kits, TAG also needed a simple method (User Interface) to allow hundreds of thousands of test subjects across the globe to register onto the programme and receive their results in a secure manner from the SmartLab they had accessed.
Why CAL have an “App” Development Team
CAL are challenging the traditional boundaries of solution design by integrating cutting edge technology, such as Vision, Robotics, Full Array Sensors and Robotics with precision engineering. The one thing that almost all new high technology components have in common is data, and increasingly the opportunity to interact remotely (via the IOT). Cutting edge technology is amazing, but too many options quickly become bewildering and so high-tech solutions have the potential to become very complicated very quickly and so a simple User Experience (UX) is required. At CAL, we know that life is already complicated enough, so when a simple solution is possible, we think it’s best to take it.
Although many of our competitors still revel in complexity, we know that nearly early all modern high-tech integrations can be managed via a Mobile Application or as you may know it – a smartphone “App.”
We now have an integrated Application Development team that form part of the initial solution design and they remain engaged throughout the design development process so if we think a simple “App” can help, we are ready to support.
What CAL did for TAG
TAG needed a method so that large numbers of people could register for testing in a secure, simple and seamless manner; the obvious solution was to create a smartphone (Android and iOS) App that allowed individual clients to register into the secure cloud based (AWS) database and book a convenient testing slot. The App generated a personalised DataMatrix code that allowed clients to securely identify themselves on arrival; at this point they were given a rapid test that also had a secure Data Matrix code; at this point the test progress and result was anonymous to everyone except the client.
Once the test had been conducted, the test cassette was inserted Into the SmartLab for incubation and processing with the result being securely uploaded into the Cloud-based database. On completion, the App was able to immediately and securely inform the patient of the result.
The App was also able to provide the TAG team with operational data including number and velocity or registrations and test progression at each site simultaneously, including percentages of results by location and test site. Although technically possible, the TAG team were not able to access any GDPR sensitive personal data due to the strict security protocols built into the App and a secure API was built into a best in class medical database to support more advanced epidemiological analysis.
What TAG said:
The testing protocols can be quite complicated for such large numbers, but the App makes the entire end-to-end process so intuitive. It just goes to show how a well-designed “App” can turn an administrative challenge into an engagement promotor!
Dr. Stefaan Vossen DC, MSc, FRCC