Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative
We present our approach to rapidly establishing a standardized, multi-site, nation-wide COVID-19 screening program in Belgium. Under auspices of a federal government Task Force responsible for upscaling the country’s testing capacity, we were able to set up a national testing initiative with readily...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Life |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/2/159 |
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| author | Steven Van Vooren James Grayson Marc Van Ranst Elisabeth Dequeker Lies Laenen Reile Janssen Laurent Gillet Fabrice Bureau Wouter Coppieters Nathalie Devos Benjamin Hengchen Pierre Wattiau Sibylle Méhauden Yvan Verlinden Kurt Van Baelen Theresa Pattery Jean-Pierre Valentin Kris Janssen Martine Geraerts John Smeraglia Jan Hellemans Pieter Wytynck Pieter Mestdagh Nienke Besbrugge René Höfer Friedel Nollet Jo Vandesompele Pieter De Smet John Lebon Emmanuel Vandewynckele Steven Verstrepen Wouter Uten Arnaud Capron Hugues Malonne Jeroen Poels Emmanuel André |
| author_facet | Steven Van Vooren James Grayson Marc Van Ranst Elisabeth Dequeker Lies Laenen Reile Janssen Laurent Gillet Fabrice Bureau Wouter Coppieters Nathalie Devos Benjamin Hengchen Pierre Wattiau Sibylle Méhauden Yvan Verlinden Kurt Van Baelen Theresa Pattery Jean-Pierre Valentin Kris Janssen Martine Geraerts John Smeraglia Jan Hellemans Pieter Wytynck Pieter Mestdagh Nienke Besbrugge René Höfer Friedel Nollet Jo Vandesompele Pieter De Smet John Lebon Emmanuel Vandewynckele Steven Verstrepen Wouter Uten Arnaud Capron Hugues Malonne Jeroen Poels Emmanuel André |
| author_sort | Steven Van Vooren |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present our approach to rapidly establishing a standardized, multi-site, nation-wide COVID-19 screening program in Belgium. Under auspices of a federal government Task Force responsible for upscaling the country’s testing capacity, we were able to set up a national testing initiative with readily available resources, putting in place a robust, validated, high-throughput, and decentralized qPCR molecular testing platform with embedded proficiency testing. We demonstrate how during an acute scarcity of equipment, kits, reagents, personnel, protective equipment, and sterile plastic supplies, we introduced an approach to rapidly build a reliable, validated, high-volume, high-confidence workflow based on heterogeneous instrumentation and diverse assays, assay components, and protocols. The workflow was set up with continuous quality control monitoring, tied together through a clinical-grade information management platform for automated data analysis, real-time result reporting across different participating sites, qc monitoring, and making result data available to the requesting physician and the patient. In this overview, we address challenges in optimizing high-throughput cross-laboratory workflows with minimal manual intervention through software, instrument and assay validation and standardization, and a process for harmonized result reporting and nation-level infection statistics monitoring across the disparate testing methodologies and workflows, necessitated by a rapid scale-up as a response to the pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:35:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a200fc5f8174981a15e82afbd3ce110 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:35:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a200fc5f8174981a15e82afbd3ce1102023-11-23T20:45:01ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292022-01-0112215910.3390/life12020159Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian InitiativeSteven Van Vooren0James Grayson1Marc Van Ranst2Elisabeth Dequeker3Lies Laenen4Reile Janssen5Laurent Gillet6Fabrice Bureau7Wouter Coppieters8Nathalie Devos9Benjamin Hengchen10Pierre Wattiau11Sibylle Méhauden12Yvan Verlinden13Kurt Van Baelen14Theresa Pattery15Jean-Pierre Valentin16Kris Janssen17Martine Geraerts18John Smeraglia19Jan Hellemans20Pieter Wytynck21Pieter Mestdagh22Nienke Besbrugge23René Höfer24Friedel Nollet25Jo Vandesompele26Pieter De Smet27John Lebon28Emmanuel Vandewynckele29Steven Verstrepen30Wouter Uten31Arnaud Capron32Hugues Malonne33Jeroen Poels34Emmanuel André35UgenTec, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02138, USAUgenTec, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02138, USADepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, BelgiumClinical Department of Laboratory medicine and National Reference Center for Respiratory Pathogens, University Hospitals Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, BelgiumClinical Department of Laboratory medicine and National Reference Center for Respiratory Pathogens, University Hospitals Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Microbiology, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, BelgiumDepartment of Microbiology, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, BelgiumDepartment of Microbiology, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, BelgiumGSK Vaccines, B-1330 Rixensart, BelgiumGSK Vaccines, B-1330 Rixensart, BelgiumGSK Vaccines, B-1330 Rixensart, BelgiumGSK Vaccines, B-1330 Rixensart, BelgiumJanssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Johnson & Johnson, B-2340 Beerse, BelgiumJanssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Johnson & Johnson, B-2340 Beerse, BelgiumJanssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Johnson & Johnson, B-2340 Beerse, BelgiumUCB Pharma, B-1420 Braine l’Alleud, BelgiumUCB Pharma, B-1420 Braine l’Alleud, BelgiumUCB Pharma, B-1420 Braine l’Alleud, BelgiumUCB Pharma, B-1420 Braine l’Alleud, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumBiogazelle, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumCliniSys|MIPS, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumCliniSys|MIPS, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumCliniSys|MIPS, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumCliniSys|MIPS, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumUgenTec n.v., B-3500 Hasselt, BelgiumSciensano, Belgian Institute for Health, B-1050 Brussels, BelgiumFederal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG-AFMPS), B-1210 Brussels, BelgiumFederal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG-AFMPS), B-1210 Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, BelgiumWe present our approach to rapidly establishing a standardized, multi-site, nation-wide COVID-19 screening program in Belgium. Under auspices of a federal government Task Force responsible for upscaling the country’s testing capacity, we were able to set up a national testing initiative with readily available resources, putting in place a robust, validated, high-throughput, and decentralized qPCR molecular testing platform with embedded proficiency testing. We demonstrate how during an acute scarcity of equipment, kits, reagents, personnel, protective equipment, and sterile plastic supplies, we introduced an approach to rapidly build a reliable, validated, high-volume, high-confidence workflow based on heterogeneous instrumentation and diverse assays, assay components, and protocols. The workflow was set up with continuous quality control monitoring, tied together through a clinical-grade information management platform for automated data analysis, real-time result reporting across different participating sites, qc monitoring, and making result data available to the requesting physician and the patient. In this overview, we address challenges in optimizing high-throughput cross-laboratory workflows with minimal manual intervention through software, instrument and assay validation and standardization, and a process for harmonized result reporting and nation-level infection statistics monitoring across the disparate testing methodologies and workflows, necessitated by a rapid scale-up as a response to the pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/2/159SARS-CoV-2qPCRlab automationqc monitoringhigh-throughput testingdata analysis |
| spellingShingle | Steven Van Vooren James Grayson Marc Van Ranst Elisabeth Dequeker Lies Laenen Reile Janssen Laurent Gillet Fabrice Bureau Wouter Coppieters Nathalie Devos Benjamin Hengchen Pierre Wattiau Sibylle Méhauden Yvan Verlinden Kurt Van Baelen Theresa Pattery Jean-Pierre Valentin Kris Janssen Martine Geraerts John Smeraglia Jan Hellemans Pieter Wytynck Pieter Mestdagh Nienke Besbrugge René Höfer Friedel Nollet Jo Vandesompele Pieter De Smet John Lebon Emmanuel Vandewynckele Steven Verstrepen Wouter Uten Arnaud Capron Hugues Malonne Jeroen Poels Emmanuel André Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative Life SARS-CoV-2 qPCR lab automation qc monitoring high-throughput testing data analysis |
| title | Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative |
| title_full | Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative |
| title_fullStr | Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative |
| title_short | Reliable and Scalable SARS-CoV-2 qPCR Testing at a High Sample Throughput: Lessons Learned from the Belgian Initiative |
| title_sort | reliable and scalable sars cov 2 qpcr testing at a high sample throughput lessons learned from the belgian initiative |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 qPCR lab automation qc monitoring high-throughput testing data analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/2/159 |
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