The program is expected to start at 5 pm PT on Wednesday, September 26, and conclude by 4 pm PT on Friday, September 27, 2024. Please note that this program schedule is subject to change. Breakfast, lunch, and coffee will be provided during program breaks.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Welcome and Opening Keynote
Delivery of Point-of-Care Testing in Resource-Limited Settings
Gerald Kost, MD, PhD, MS, FADLM
Professor Emeritus, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine | University of California, Davis
Davis, California, US
Geospatially optimized point-of-need diagnostics and distributed prehospital testing have high potential to improve outcomes. Point-of-care testing should be positioned upstream close to homes, island populations, and other points on spatial care paths that have prolonged access and rescue time contours. Mobile testing is useful in bringing diagnostic resources to populations in challenging geographies. These strategies will decrease disparities in mortality among rural and island versus urban dwellers, enhance resilience for increasingly adverse and frequent climate change weather disasters that impact vulnerable coastal areas, and facilitate public healthcare delivery. We will illustrate planning concepts in the remote Bantayan Archipelago of the Visayas, Philippines, and other countries. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the acceptance of point-of-care testing worldwide for outbreaks of highly infectious diseases. The advent of novel point-of-care technologies, such as portable x-ray with accompanying rapid molecular testing for Tuberculosis, will continue to enhance the democratization of healthcare in the 21st Century.
Opening Reception
The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) will host an opening reception. Registered participants are welcome to join for light refreshments and networking. Exhibitors and posters will be present during the reception.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Session 1: Choosing and Supporting POCT Coordinators
Moderated by Julie Shaw, PhD, FCACB | The Ottawa Hospital University of Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratories Association
Presented by:
Jeanne Mumford, BS, MLS | Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland, US
Mary Annette Thomas, MPhil, CBiol, CSci, MRSB, FIBMS | Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff, Wales, UK
Julie Shaw, PhD, FCACB | The Ottawa Hospital University of Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratories Association
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
POCT Coordinators play a vital role in providing laboratory support for POCT programs to ensure testing quality. Clinical staff performing POCT do not always appreciate quality assurance practices for testing and POCT Coordinators are pivotal in managing relationships between clinicians and the laboratory, which can be challenging. This session will allow an opportunity to hear from a seasoned POCT Coordinator on challenges faced in her role and how the role has evolved. We will also hear from two POCT Directors about their approaches to choosing and supporting POCT Coordinators and on their roles in leading and supporting POCT programs from their perspectives in both the United Kingdom and Canada.
Session 2: Method Verification Matters: Implementing POCT in Non-Traditional Settings
Moderated by Zahra Shajani-Yi, PhD, DABCC, FADLM | Labcorp
Presented by:
Ronald Henriquez, PhD, NRCC, FADLM | US Army - Brooke Army Medical Center
Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, US
Nichole Korpi-Steiner, PhD, DABCC | UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Caroline, US
Sarah Wheeler, PhD, NRCC | UPMC
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
As point-of-care testing (POCT) continues to increase popularity, more assays are being utilized in non-traditional POC settings. Regardless of where testing takes place, proper method verification is needed to ensure accurate test results. This session will provide audience members with the tools needed to efficiently validate, implement, and maintain POCT by sharing examples of successful programs in ambulatory clinics, helicopters, and field hospitals.
Friday, September 27, 2024
Session 3: Is it POCT? Let's Debate!
Moderated by Allison Venner, PhD, FCACB | Alberta Precision Laboratories
Presented by:
Kristin Hauff, PhD | Interior Health
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Matthias Orth, MD, PhD | Vinzenz von Paul Kliniken gGmbH Marien Hospital
Stuttgart, Germany
POCT professionals need to regularly assess whether current and new tests qualify as POCT and advise on quality assurance practices. The answer may depend on a variety of factors, including where and when the test results are delivered, who administers the test, and government or hospital guidelines/regulations. Join this session to hear a debate about what fits the POCT definition(s) and considerations when managing such requests in your own work.
Session 4: AI and Machine Learning in POCT
Moderated by Julie Shaw, PhD, FCACB | The Ottawa Hospital University of Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratories Association
Presented by:
Hooman H. Rashidi, MD, MS, FCAP | University of Pittsburgh / UPMC / Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Adil I. Khan, MSc, PhD | Temple University Health System
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
AI and machine learning (AI/ML) are enabling advances in POCT that will affect all POCT professionals. Learn the basics of AI/ML as it applies to POCT and hear some case studies of AI/ML in action so you are prepared for this next generation of tests.
Closing Keynote
The Future of POCT: How IoMT Advancements in AI, Home Health Technologies, and Wearables Will Revolutionize Personalized Medicine
Naqi Khan, MD, MS, FAMIA
Physician Lead, Analytics & ML, WWPS Healthcare Industry Team | Amazon Web Services
Seattle, Washington, US
The future of point-of-care testing (POCT) will transform through emerging internet of medical things (IoMT) innovations in artificial intelligence, home health technologies, and wearable sensors. Collectively, these breakthroughs will revolutionize POCT to better achieve the quadruple aim. We briefly overview current POCT capabilities before exploring the tremendous potential of deep learning algorithms, smartphone-based diagnostic readers, and seamlessly embedded biometric sensors. Specifically, integrating AI and connectivity will enable widespread, equitable access to lab-quality results from home, while advances in generative AI models show promise for automating and improving the interpretation of diagnostic results. Wearable sensors will also facilitate continuous remote patient monitoring by transmitting physiological data to cloud analytics for timely interventions. Ultimately, by decentralizing healthcare access, these disruptive POCT advancements will help democratize precision medicine delivery while also unleashing invaluable phenotypic big data to inform superior predictions, preventions, and health policies. This patient-centered transformation will make personalized medicine more accessible.