Alice Springs

Researchers are evaluating whether increasing the use of finger-stick point-of-care testing for hepatitis C virus HCV infection improves diagnosis and treatment rates. The study focuses on people at risk for HCV infection, recruited from various settings such as drug treatment clinics, needle and syringe programs, homelessness services, mental health services, prisons, and mobile outreach. This observational cohort study aims to address challenges in HCV elimination caused by reduced treatment uptake and barriers in current diagnostic pathways. Participants will attend a single visit to receive point-of-care HCV testing using finger-stick methods. Testing includes rapid HCV antibody tests, and if positive, further HCV RNA testing is performed to detect active infection. Those with detectable HCV RNA will be linked to standard care for further assessment and treatment outside the study. Participants will complete a self-administered survey during the visit. No treatment is provided as part of this study. During the study, researchers will measure how many participants with active HCV infection start treatment within 12 weeks after testing. They will also evaluate acceptance of testing, prevalence of active infection, treatment initiation timing, treatment completion, and virus clearance rates up to 52 weeks following testing. Data from surveys will be linked to administrative records to assess long-term health outcomes. Participation involves only one study visit for testing and survey completion.

Heart Failure and valvular heart disease are common and serious problems in rural and remote Australia, partly due to an aging population and higher rates of rheumatic heart disease in Aboriginal communities. Access to echocardiography, the best imaging tool for these heart conditions, varies widely because it requires expert operators. This trial aims to evaluate the use of artificial intelligence AI to guide echocardiography for triage and management of patients with known or suspected heart disease in these rural areas. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will receive AI-guided echocardiography performed by non-experts using a desktop echo machine with AI software, with images uploaded securely to a cloud system for remote analysis. The other group will receive standard echocardiography performed by expert sonographers, often involving delays due to travel or scheduling. This trial will take place in multiple rural and remote sites across Australia, involving around 1200 individuals aged 45 and older at risk for heart failure or valvular heart disease. During the study, participants will undergo imaging and clinical assessments to diagnose cardiac dysfunction or valve disease over a 12-month period. Researchers will measure how well the AI-guided method identifies these conditions early and supports patient management. The trial includes careful monitoring of diagnosis outcomes and aims to reduce hospital admissions while preserving patients functional status and quality of life. The total participation time includes initial screening and follow-up evaluations throughout the year.