Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine uses Lanner WITNESS to fight tuberculosis in Africa
Lanner today announced that the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has deployed Lanner WITNESS as the basis of a tool to model health systems that are set to fight the spread of tuberculosis across Tanzania.
The tool - Virtual Implementation - was developed under the Technology, Research, Education and Technical Assistance for Tuberculosis (TREAT TB) Diagnostic Tools Initiative. The TREAT TB initiative is USAID funded and led by International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Virtual Implementation supports policy-makers by enabling them to make predictions on the impact of changes to their health system from implementing new diagnostic approaches for TB.
Using computer models that represent the behaviour of real-life systems, Virtual Implementation addresses the “what if?” questions regarding new diagnostic approaches for TB. This explores changes to current practice in a virtual world, without risk to the real-life system.
A visual model of the health system allows policy-makers to easily understand and follow the impact of any changes, with detailed information available at each of the different stages of the diagnostic process.
“Early diagnosis is critical to stop the spread of TB,” comments Ivor Langley, Operational Research Analyst at The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. “Given the significant levels of investment required to deliver the new infrastructure and technology needed, it is fundamental that we demonstrate the likely change on patients, the population and health system costs in a risk-free environment.
“WITNESS will help to identify the most cost-effective way of implementing new treatment options. This helps ensure every penny spent goes towards reducing the spread of the disease, particularly amongst the poor where TB is most prevalent.”
David Jones, CEO, Lanner said: “WITNESS has seen some truly innovative applications in the most unlikely places. In Africa we have seen it set to use on reclaiming lakes from invasive plants as well as truly worthy projects like the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. These are far removed from the operational research of a manufacturing plant or financial institution but show how simulation can increase confidence, boost efficiency and cut costs in a wide range of organisations.”
Source: Lanner.com
