Research & Innovation

ASPREN also works with research groups to explore better ways to detect, track, and respond to respiratory illnesses in the community.

These projects focus on practical, real-world solutions that can improve patient care and public health, including:

• Testing rapid point-of-care tests (POCT) for influenza diagnosis in remote and regional communities, helping deliver faster results where standard testing can be delayed due to transport and lab processing times;
• Exploring digital tools, such as Google Flu Trends, to see how well online search data reflects what is actually happening in GP clinics;
• Developing app-based testing approaches like Flu@home, which trialled app-guided rapid antigen tests (RATs), so people could test at home;
• Trialling self-testing models such as iSwab, to see whether results collected at home are similar to those collected through GP clinics;
• Piloting antimicrobial resistance surveillance through general practice, which later helped establish broader monitoring systems;
• Studying how viruses spread, including infections in people who don’t show symptoms (such as during COVID-19);
• Piloting enhanced surveillance systems to better prepare for future pandemics; and
• Improving how we identify when flu season starts, peaks, and ends each year.

These projects ensure ASPREN remains at the forefront of surveillance innovation.