The TREAT TB Modeling Initiative is using operational and transmission modeling to project the performance, resource requirements and costs associated with using new tuberculosis diagnostic tools in real-world settings. On 14 September, Dr I.D. Rusen, TREAT TB Project Director, and Mr Ivor Langley, Liverpool School Tropical Medicine's Operational Research Analyst presented the TREAT TB virtual implementation approach was presented to a multidisciplinary group of global health professionals attending at the 2012 Global Health Mini-University in Washington, DC. The annual forum is a daylong event designed for sharing evidence-based best practices and state-of-the-art information.
Ms Amy Piatek, USAID's Senior Tuberculosis Technical Advisor, began the presentation by describing the global TB epidemic and highlighting the potential advantages of using Xpert MTB/RIF as diagnostic tool for TB.
Dr Rusen then described the gaps in global TB research, particularly in the assessment of new diagnostic tools, and explained how TREAT TB is working to address those gaps through its PROVE IT study and other evaluations.
Mr Langley demonstrated the impact these evaluations can have by presenting an overview of virtual implementation and how it can be used to address the "what if?" questions regarding a new tool. He also covered the requirements for this type of modeling, how the modeling process works and what can be learned through virtual implementation of diagnostic tools.
TREAT TB is a Union-managed initiative funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The 2012 Global Health Mini-University was sponsored by USAID and the George Washington University Center for Global Health, which hosted the event on the George Washington University campus.
Learn more at www.treattb.org