%0 Journal Article %A Conceptor Kaaba %A Maria Ruperez %A Barry Kosloff %A Nduku Ndunda %A Kwame Shanaube %A Helen Ayles %A , %T Assessing usability of QIAreach QuantiFERON® platform in a high Tuberculosis prevalence low-resource setting %D 2021 %R 10.1183/23120541.00511-2021 %J ERJ Open Research %P 00511-2021 %X Background We aimed to assess the usability of QIAreach QuantiFERON® platform in a high Tuberculosis prevalence low-resource setting. Assay usability was assessed across 6 laboratories in Zambia.Methods Usability of QIAreach QuantiFERON and training needs for assay implementation were assessed across three domains: effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction. Nine laboratory workers participated in the study. For each task, metrics on success (pass, fail, pass with hints), total task time, and ease of use rating (five-point Likert scale) were collected.Results Overall tasks completion rate was from 89–100%. 1/9 participants, could not understand software instructions. Average time from set up to results ranged from 22 to 40 min. Users with experience performing the QFT-plus assay completed the test faster than users without experience, 26 min versus 35 min. Two participants had difficulty loading the sample on QIAreach eStick. Two participants could not adjust the pipette to the required volume of 150 µL. Two participants did not mix the test sample properly. One participant transferred the sample buffer twice and added insufficient plasma to the sample processing tube. Two participants added the test sample to eStick sample port many times. One participant added wrong information in the software. User satisfaction ranged from 2 to 5.Conclusion The QIAreach QFT assay is suitable to be implemented in remote areas with limited infrastructure. Further studies are needed to establish assay's performances as well as the feasibility of introducing this new assay at larger scale to improve TB control in regions with limited infrastructure.FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Some of the authors declare receiving a grant from EDCTP for TREATS and one author (Nduku Ndunda) is a former employee of QIAGEN. QIAGEN (Hilden, Germany) provided the QIAreachTM QuantiFERON-TB test kits free of charge. %U https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/erjor/early/2021/11/11/23120541.00511-2021.full.pdf