Research and analysis

COVID-19: LFD digital reader evaluation

The digital reader was evaluated to understand its real-world effectiveness by addressing a series of questions on accuracy, usability and value for money.

• From: UK Health Security Agency
• Published: 3 November 2022

Applies to England

Documents

COVID-19 LFD digital reader: evaluation of real-world deployment

Ref: UKHSA publication gateway number GOV-13102

PDF, 860 KB, 45 pages

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Details

An evaluation of the digital (artificial intelligence) reader was carried out based on this data to understand its real-world effectiveness and considered the following questions:

• output accuracy – does the digital reader (DR) correctly identify and report positive cases?
• viral accuracy compared to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) – what is the concordance between the DR and matched PCR results compared to self-read and matched PCR results?
• user journey performance – how easy was it for users to navigate the DR process?
• value for money – how does the improved accuracy of the DR translate into fiscal value?

In conclusion, compared to the self-read LFD reporting (the current status quo), the digital reader offers greater accuracy and better case-finding capability. The process is easy to use and acceptable to most users with no apparent additional burden and no learning curve. These benefits would translate into major financial benefits if deployed at a population level.

Published 3 November 2022