Automatic Test Research Articles

Impact of software testing automation on the development cycle

Software development is a complex process, from its beginnings with the collection of requirements, processes are proposed for its development in order to achieve a quality product that manages to satisfy the user. Automation appears in the context of software testing development, a critical point in software development, since the quality of development depends on it. Automating software testing offers benefits in efficiency, resource optimization and product quality, also influencing the satisfaction of the development team. In conclusion, the implementation of tools that automate the software testing process will improve the software development cycle, provided they are implemented appropriately.

Impaired Executive Functioning Associated with Alcohol-Related Neurocognitive Disorder including Korsakoff's Syndrome.

(1) Background: chronic alcohol use is consistently associated with impaired executive functioning, but its profile across the spectrum from mild to major alcohol-related cognitive impairment is, to date, unclear. This study aims to compare executive performances of patients with alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorder, including Korsakoff's syndrome (KS), by using a computerized assessment battery allowing a fine-grained and precise neuropsychological assessment; (2) Methods: performances of 22 patients with alcohol-related cognitive impairment (ARCI) and 20 patients with KS were compared to those of 22 matched non-alcoholic controls. All participants were diagnosed in accordance with DSM-5-TR criteria and were at least six weeks abstinent from alcohol prior to assessment. Executive function was evaluated using four subtests of Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB®); (3) Results: significant differences between groups were found on spatial working memory (updating), sustained attention and inhibitory control, set shifting, and planning. Healthy controls performed significantly better than both patient groups (Games-Howell post hoc; p < 0.05), but no differences in performance were found between the ARCI and KS group; (4) Conclusions: ARCI and KS patients showed significant executive impairments, most prominent in updating, set-shifting and general planning abilities. Findings suggest equivalent levels of executive function in ARCI and KS patients. Our results highlight executive function as a significant hallmark of alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorder and stipulate the importance of early assessment and evaluation of skills to guide treatment.

A piecewise spline approach for modeling of ECG signals

This paper presents a new spline-based modeling method of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal that can reproduce normal as well as abnormal ECG beats. Large volume ECG data is required for automatic machine learning diagnostic systems, medical education, research and testing purposes but due to privacy issues, access to this medical data is very difficult. Given this, modeling an ECG signal is a very challenging task in the field of biomedical signal processing. Spline-based modeling is the latest and one of the most efficient methods with very low computational complexity in the domain of ECG signal generation. In this paper, healthy ECG and arrhythmia conditions have been considered for the synthetic generation, (namely Atrial fibrillation and Congestive heart failure ECG beats) because these are the leading causes of death globally. To validate the performance of the presented modeling method, it is tested on 100 signals, also the percentage root mean square difference (PRD) and the root mean square error (RMSE) have been determined. These calculated values are analyzed and the results are found to be very promising and show that the presented method is one of the best methods in the field of synthetic ECG signal generation. A comparison amongst relevant existing techniques and the proposed method is also presented. The performance merit values PRD and RMSE, for the proposed method obtained are 38.99 and 0.10092, respectively, which are lower than the values obtained in other compared methods. To ensure fidelity of the proposed modeling technique with respect to IEC60601 standard, few Conformance Testing Services (CTS)database signals have also been modelled with a very close resemblance with the standard signals.

An ontology for defining and characterizing demonstration environments

Demonstration Environments (DEs) are essential tools for testing and demonstrating new technologies, products, and services, and reducing uncertainties and risks in the innovation process. However, the terminology used to describe these environments is inconsistent, leading to heterogeneity in defining and characterizing them. This makes it difficult to establish a universal understanding of DEs and to differentiate between the different types of DEs, including testbeds, pilot-plants, and living labs. Moreover, existing literature lacks a holistic view of DEs, with studies focusing on specific types of DEs and not offering an integrated perspective on their characteristics and applicability in different contexts. This study proposes an ontology for knowledge representation related to DEs to address this gap. Using an ontology learning approach analyzing 3621 peer-reviewed journal articles, we develop a standardized framework for defining and characterizing DEs, providing a holistic view of these environments. The resulting ontology allows innovation managers and practitioners to select appropriate DEs for achieving their innovation goals, based on the characteristics and capabilities of the specific type of DE. The contributions of this study are significant in advancing the understanding and application of DEs in innovation processes. The proposed ontology provides a standardized approach for defining and characterizing DEs, reducing inconsistencies in terminology and establishing a common understanding of these environments. This enables innovation managers and practitioners to select appropriate DEs for their specific innovation goals, facilitating more efficient and effective innovation processes. Overall, this study provides a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in the effective use of DEs in innovation.

An In-Depth Review of Test Automation Frameworks: Types and Trade-offs

As the domain of software development continues to progress in terms of intricacy and magnitude, the integration of automated testing has become a vital element in ensuring the excellence and dependability of software. The implementation of automated testing frameworks assumes a pivotal role in streamlining the testing procedure; nevertheless, the selection of the appropriate framework category presents challenges and necessitates making prudent compromises. This academic paper presents a comprehensive exploration of automated testing frameworks, exhaustively investigating their diverse categories, attributes, and the associated compromises that emerge from their adoption. The paper initiates with a comprehensive examination of the literature, encompassing a concise overview of the current research and industry patterns regarding test automation frameworks. Following this, it presents an intricate evaluation of various types of frameworks, such as keyword-driven, data-driven, and behavior-driven frameworks, clarifying their individual principles and functionalities. One of the main topics explored in this paper concerns the factors that influence the choice of a particular type of test automation framework. By presenting a framework for decision-making, we offer guidance to professionals and organizations in making informed decisions that align with their project requirements, team expertise, and testing goals. Furthermore, this paper critically evaluates the trade-offs and challenges associated with each type of framework, addressing concerns related to different aspects of the framework. To assist professionals and decision-makers, we conclude by providing best practices and recommendations for effectively implementing and managing test automation frameworks. Moreover, we investigate the perspective of test automation frameworks, accentuating emerging patterns and contemplating the consequences of developing technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. In summary, this paper presents a comprehensive guide to the different types and trade-offs of test automation frameworks, equipping software professionals with the knowledge and insights necessary to make well-informed decisions and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their testing processes.

Monitoring heat transfer for seepage in earth-rock dams with clay cores considering damaged areas: Laboratory experiments and numerical modeling

This study conducted a laboratory test and two-dimensional numerical simulation on seepage heat monitoring of a core rockfill dam. A fully automatic laboratory test system for dam seepage monitoring has been developed, which can achieve automatic control of water flow and temperature, as well as automatic data collection. A flow-heat coupling model based on [Johansen, O., (1975). Thermal conductivity of soils. P. D. thesis. University of Trondheim, Norway, Trondheim] empirical thermal conductivity model was established through secondary development using COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software, and its accuracy was verified. The influence of the location of damaged leakage in the core wall of the dam on flow and heat migration was analyzed. Among the investigated conditions, a damaged channel with a curved cross-section causes the formation of the prominent arc in the saturation line of the dam body downstream, induces the largest increase in the average seepage discharge, and makes the dam body most unstable. The effects of damage on the temperature and seepage fields are positively correlated for different damage types. The presence of a damaged area induces sudden changes in the pressure, velocity, and temperature at each monitoring point. The pressure, velocity and temperature are correlated, and there is a lag in temperature transfer. This study provides a reference for the application of distributed fiber optic temperature measurement technology in core rockfill dam engineering, especially in terms of fiber optic placement position. The established numerical model can provide an accurate and effective reference method for identifying abnormal temperature data and locating dam leakage. Our next step will be to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics throughout the entire process from undamaged to dam failure.

Automated Testing of Indo Towing Information System with Katalon Studio

The development of web-based and mobile information systems that support various aspects of human work has become the main focus in the current technological era. The importance of automation testing in ensuring software quality is becoming increasingly profound. The quality of these systems is critical to supporting successful business operations. Automation testing using the STLC method and equivalence partitioning technique is applied to ensure the quality of the Indo Towing system. The testing tool used is Katalon Studio, which facilitates the implementation of automated testing with efficiency. Thus, this study emphasizes the importance of automation testing as a crucial step in software development. The results of the implementation of automation testing using Katalon Studio were successfully carried out according to the information system function without any bugs being found in the system. Tests carried out automatically using Katalon Studio can be concluded that the system is running well.

ASIC Implementation for Multiple Scan at Register Transfer Level

Design for testability (DFT) is introduced to reduce the complexity of testing integrated circuit and help improve fault coverage. However, conventional DFT with additional 2-to-1 multiplexer (MUX) might add an increasing amount of delay and area overhead. Therefore, register transfer level (RTL) scan design is introduced to overcome this problem. This paper aims to present the development of an ASIC with RTL scan design by using multiple scan paths instead of the conventional technique, which is gate-level (GL) scan insertion to insert scan cells. This method inserts multiple scan cells by utilizing the existing multiplexer and operational units in order to reduce area overhead and delay. Besides, multiple scan paths are implemented instead of a single scan chain to reduce the complexity of the testing process, where a single scan chain has long test application times due to the high number of clock cycles for the scan chain process. RTL design is also modified by adding an extra gate for multiple scan chain insertion. The graph is derived in order to analyse the connection between registers such that the multiple scan paths can be determined accordingly. Synopsys tool is used for synthesized, placement and routing and performing automatic test pattern generation while static timing analysis is used to verify the results of the setup slack time for ASIC design. The simulation result shows that multiple scan paths insertion at RTL level has an area overhead and slack time of about 3.79% and 0.44ns less compared to multiple scan paths insertion at GL for a finite impulse response circuit with comparable high fault coverage and small delay. A comparison of the performance metrics such as area, setup slack time, and fault coverage of the multiple scan chain is done between the RTL scan and GL scan.

Test Method of Secure and Controllable FPGA Chip Used in Flexible DC Transmission Control and Protection System

Flexible DC transmission control and protection system is a high-performance distributed computing system, which has the characteristics of high-speed data acquisition and fast processing, and uses a large number of high-performance FPGA (Field Programmable Logic Array) chips. FPGA has the characteristics of high integration and complex manufacturing process, and its security and controllability is faced with many challenges. The reliability of FPGA is an important standard to measure its performance, so reliability test fault screening is very important to ensure its normal operation. Although the automatic test equipment (ATE) can test the fault of FPGA, it is not convenient for field testing due to the price, test environment and other factors. In this paper, a design scheme of built-in self-test (BIST) for fault detection and fault diagnosis is proposed, which can detect faults of look-up table (LUT) and interconnection resources (wires and programmable switches). At the same time, considering the effect of rising temperature on fault probability, a controlled self-heating element (SHE) is constructed by using the internal resources of FPGA to provide the required temperature for BIST testing. Finally, an integrated layout scheme of BIST and SHE is proposed. An experiment of self-heating of FPGA chip is completed by TSINGHUA PGL22G, which verifies the correctness and feasibility of the theory.

Research and Design of Automatic Test System for Ventilator Performance

Ventilator is an important medical instrument which can replace the function of autonomous ventilation artificially. Its safety and reliability are related to the health and even life safety of patients. With the publishing of the new national standard and international standard for ventilators, higher requirements are put forward for the detection and evaluation. This study mainly introduces an automatic test system for ventilator performance. The test system is based on PF-300 air-flow analyzer of Imtmedical and standard simulation lung. The automatic switch module of simulation lung is developed, and the automatic test system of ventilator is designed using the software development platform based on Python. It can not only automatically test all ventilation control parameters and monitoring parameters of the ventilator, but also realize automatic data recording, form reports and data analysis, and improve the efficiency and quality of inspection, detection and quality control.

UX and Machine Learning – Preprocessing of Audiovisual Data Using Computer Vision to Recognize UI Elements

This study explores the convergence of user experience (UX) and machine learning, particularly employing computer vision techniques to preprocess audiovisual data to detect user interface (UI) elements. With an emphasis on usability testing, the study introduces a novel approach for recognizing changes in UI screens within video recordings. The methodology involves a sequence of steps, including form prototype creation, laboratory experiments, data analysis, and computer vision tasks. The future aim is to automate the evaluation of user behavior during UX testing. This innovative approach is relevant to the agricultural domain, where specialized applications for precision agriculture, subsidy requests, and production reporting demand streamlined usability. The research introduces a frame extraction algorithm that identifies screen changes by analyzing pixel differences between consecutive frames. Additionally, the study employs YOLOv7, an efficient object detection model, to identify UI elements within the video frames. Results showcase successful screen change detection with minimal false negatives and acceptable false positives, showcasing the potential for enhanced automation in UX testing. The study’s implications lie in simplifying analysis processes, enhancing insights for design decisions, and fostering user-centric advancements in diverse sectors, including precision agriculture.

Methods of automation and interpretation of the quality educational tests in distributed virtual learning systems

The subject matter of the article is the development of mathematical and algorithmic support for intellectual tools, which allows you to conduct continuous control of the knowledge of students (subjects of study) objectively and comprehensively. The goal of the work is to create methods for assessing the quality of educational tests and automating such processes. The following tasks were solved in the article: formation of a testing model in a distributed virtual learning environment and a validity assessment model based on the content of sets of test tasks. The following methods used are – algebra of finite predicates and operations, methods of mathematical statistics and methods of intellectual data analysis. The following results were obtained – the principles of intellectual analysis of the value of reliability coefficients, validity coefficients, discriminability coefficient, the difficulty index of the task of assessing the knowledge of subjects of training are formulated. Conclusions: the application of methods of formalization of test evaluation, analysis of software requirements, software development confirm the need to introduce quantitative methods of assessing students' knowledge into educational practice. The introduction of quantitative methods involves the correct setting of control goals, the selection of the measurement object and the selection of measurement tools. The use of pedagogical tests contributes to the effective implementation of all control functions and corresponds to its main principles for solving the problem of assessing the quality of tests, based on distributed virtual learning models and analysis methods. A test example of calculations was developed, with the help of which the efficiency of the proposed methods was researched.

Comparative analysis of selected tools for test automation of web applications

The paper concerns a comparison of selected tools for conducting automated unit tests of web applications. It focuses on the testing of server and client parts. The aim of the paper is to answer the questions: which tools work best in creating automatic tests of server and client applications. In the context of the server part, unittest and pytest – libraries based on the Python language – are compared. The comparison of the client part tools is carried out in the context of testing applications programmed with the Angular framework and pairs Jasmine and Jest together. The research is based on the results of test execution times of the prepared test applications. Analogous tests were programmed with each tool and repeated several times to obtain reliable results. The research showed that among the tools for testing server applications, unittest is the more efficient, while in the case of tools for testing client applications, Jasmine shows higher performance.

Form to Flow: Exploring Challenges and Roles of Conversational UX Designers in Real-world, Multi-channel Service Environments

Conversational agents are widely used in today's multi-channel service environments. However, little is known regarding the challenges faced by user experience (UX) designers. This study explores the challenges faced by conversational UX designers working in multidisciplinary teams for understanding the design process involved in the transformation of conventional graphical interfaces to conversation flows. In-depth interviews with UX designers working in industries reveal the key challenges in the form-to-flow transformation process. Moreover, collaborative work with various stakeholders in complex work environments involves conversational artificial intelligence-engendered gap-filling work phenomena wherein UX designers tend to work across role boundaries. Our results indicate the need for added support for CUX designer including tools and guidelines to suppport form-to-flow design, tools for testing, and defining extended roles for CUX designers with collaborative perspectives for designing conversational agents in multi-channel service environments.

Process automation instantiation for intelligence orchestration

Devices and use case heterogeneity in Internet of Things (IoT) make it challenging to streamline the creation of processes that orchestrate devices that work interactively through actuation and sensing (data generation and data processing) toward fulfilling a goal. This raises the question of what is needed to realize this vision using serverless technologies and leveraging semantic description tools that would eventually complement standards to describe such orchestration in a similar way to microservices (e.g., using TOSCA). This study analyzes the different requirements necessary in such automation description and tests them in some practical use cases in a particular application (vertical agriculture). It also provides a set of analyzed instructions that might be incorporated into a description language or become a definition format for an automation orchestration description to provide the necessary process deployment options and interaction chains between multiple devices and data sources. These instructions are analyzed by implementing an execution deployment engine from the intelligence orchestration concept. The practical utilization of such instructions is verified and tested with the use case.

UniLoc: Unified Fault Localization of Continuous Integration Failures

Continuous integration (CI) practices encourage developers to frequently integrate code into a shared repository. Each integration is validated by automatic build and testing such that errors are revealed as early as possible. When CI failures or integration errors are reported, existing techniques are insufficient to automatically locate the root causes for two reasons. First, a CI failure may be triggered by faults in source code and/or build scripts, whereas current approaches consider only source code. Second, a tentative integration can fail because of build failures and/or test failures, whereas existing tools focus on test failures only. This article presents UniLoc, the first unified technique to localize faults in both source code and build scripts given a CI failure log, without assuming the failure’s location (source code or build scripts) and nature (a test failure or not). Adopting the information retrieval (IR) strategy, UniLoc locates buggy files by treating source code and build scripts as documents to search and by considering build logs as search queries. However, instead of naïvely applying an off-the-shelf IR technique to these software artifacts, for more accurate fault localization, UniLoc applies various domain-specific heuristics to optimize the search queries, search space, and ranking formulas. To evaluate UniLoc, we gathered 700 CI failure fixes in 72 open source projects that are built with Gradle. UniLoc could effectively locate bugs with the average mean reciprocal rank value as 0.49, mean average precision value as 0.36, and normalized discounted cumulative gain value as 0.54. UniLoc outperformed the state-of-the-art IR-based tool BLUiR and Locus. UniLoc has the potential to help developers diagnose root causes for CI failures more accurately and efficiently.

A-328 Urine Toxicology Screening: Tetrahydrocannabinol Positivity Patterns at an U.S. Urban Tertiary Care Children's Hospital

Abstract Background Given the recent legalization of recreational and medical marijuana in different states, there is an increasing exposure of children and teenagers to marijuana products which has led to an increase in health care visits and hospitalizations. Our drug testing algorithm uses an immunoassay test for initial urinary drug screening (UDS) followed by an automatic confirmatory test only when a positive UDS result is obtained. The immunoassay test is performed in-house and detects the major metabolites of delta9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana. In contrast, the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) confirmatory test is more specific towards THC and is carried out in an external lab. In light of the ongoing trend of marijuana exposure cases and the fact that immunoassay cross-reactivity with non-cannabinoid compounds is uncommon, we aim to assess the necessity of automatic confirmatory tests in our patient population and evaluate its impact on patient management. Methods We conducted a retrospective study to assess the trends in cannabinoid hospital-related encounters by age, gender, and incidence with other drugs, in our population among the main campus and satellites (November 2021–October 2022). The UDS tests that were positive for cannabinoids were further evaluated to assess their agreement with the confirmatory testing. Results Cannabinoid positive tests account for 62.0% (504/813) of all positive UDS tests in all our locations and 84% (425/504) of the cases did not test positive for other drug classes. Among this population, 92.7% (467/504) are in the adolescent age (≥13 years), whereas 7.3% (37/504) were children (&amp;lt;13 years). Female population comprises 56.0% (217/504) of the cases whereas male, 43% (271/504) of the cases. The true positive rate for the immunoassay test was 99.6% (465/467) and 94.6% (35/37) for adolescents and children, respectively. Clinical decisions were made after a positive immunoassay result and before the confirmatory test as this is a send out test and takes a few days to receive the result. Conclusion Our evidence-based approach demonstrates unnecessary confirmatory testing for the adolescent group in our population due to a high positivity rate (99.6%). Discontinuing automatic confirmatory testing for this group will eliminate workload and reduce healthcare costs. On the other hand, automatic confirmatory testing in children will continue as these exposures are mainly considered unintentional and require more investigation.

Development of a lead-free, high-frequency ultrasound transducer with broad bandwidth and enhanced pulse-echo response, employing β-Ni(OH)2/PVDF-TrFE piezoelectric composite

Piezoelectric composite-based high-frequency ultrasound transducers (USTs) have gained significant prominence as a leading and effective tool in non-invasive medical diagnosis, non-destructive testing and diverse industrial applications. In this study, we present the fabrication of a lead-free, high-frequency ultrasound transducer (P-UST), having a very simple and unique assembly procedure. To achieve this, we employed PVDF-TrFE based piezoelectric composite thin film (NTr5) integrated with a transition metal hydroxide (β-Ni(OH)2 nanoplates) and demonstrated its outstanding performance, thereby showcasing its potential in various applications. The composite exhibited exceptional β-phase crystallization, reaching impressive maximum value of 90.04%, owing to the favorable interaction between electrostatic ions and dipoles, along with the presence of strong surface polarization. Upon analysis, remarkable piezoelectric (d33∼50.22 pm/V) and ferroelectric properties were observed in the composite material, accompanied by significant enhancement in surface roughness. Here, the piezoelectric property's impact on UST output is well-explained using Maxwell's equation. P-UST, being a versatile system, is capable of generating and receiving pulse signals. By conducting a pulse-echo test on an aluminium block with ultrasound gel, we achieved a peak-to-peak output voltage of 5.19 V, surpassing the output voltage magnitude of any previously reported UST in this field. The Fast Fourier transformed data of the voltage output revealed an impressive −6 dB bandwidth of 51.22 MHz (102.4%) with a high central frequency of 50.01 MHz. Hence, our P-UST's exceptionally high central frequency promises significantly enhanced ultrasound image resolution, which expands the potential for highly accurate medical assessments for advanced healthcare outcomes and improving patient well-being.

A-367 Development of a Novel Handheld Platform for Real-time Fluorescence-based Nucleic Acid Detection

Abstract Background Real-time fluorescent nucleic acid detection systems are usually large and complex to operate. In the past three years, the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked a variety of point-of-care testing (POCT) nucleic acid detection platforms. However, most of these platforms need to be paired with specific reagents, and many detection reagents on the market cannot be applied to these POCT platforms. Methods In this research, a novel handheld real-time nucleic acid detection device was invented. The device uses a heating element to adjust the temperature in time with a sensor to ensure accuracy. The optical detection module is highly scalable and can be extended up to 6 fluorescence channels. The FAM and HEX fluorescence channels were utilized in this experiment. This platform is open and can adjust temperature for various types of isothermal nucleic acid detection, such as LAMP, RPA, and RCA. Results We used a commercial COVID-19 reagent kit with our device to get results in just 30 minutes, detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus as little as 500 copies/mL. Our system provides a reliable and efficient tool for COVID-19 testing in a variety of settings. Conclusion The handheld device was also used to test for flu A and mycobacterium tuberculosis, with good results. This device can be used not only for pathogen detection of human diseases, but also in pathogen detection for animals and plants, food safety, environmental monitoring, and other fields, thus expanding the application range of nucleic acid detection and making it simpler and more convenient to use.

A-306 Standardization of Automated Methodology for Qualitative Molecular Detection of HIV-1 in Dried Blood Spots (DBS)

Abstract Background Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the etiological agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with more than 35 million people infected worldwide. Typically, after seroconversion, individuals enter a clinically stable and relatively asymptomatic phase that can last for years. Without antiretroviral treatment, individuals usually progress to AIDS, which is characterized by a decrease in CD4+ cells in the immune system, which increases the susceptibility to opportunistic infections and eventual death. Historically, HIV tests have relied on the antibody response that patients produce due to the virus infection. Although these antibodies are ineffective in combating the virus, they have been found in most chronically infected patients. In newborns, nucleic acid amplification tests can diagnose HIV infection during the first 18 months of a baby's life, while their blood still contains maternal antibodies and can result in a false-positive interpretation of serological tests. the availability of a diagnostic test capable of detecting HIV infection that offers flexibility, stability and ease of collection is of great importance. In this sense, the detection of HIV-1 in dried blood spots (DBS) represent a good strategy, with simple collection of sample and provides evidence of current infection using nucleic acid amplification technologies such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this way, this work aimed to evaluate a qualitative test for detetion of HIV 1 in DBS. Methods Were selected 103 whole blood samples. The samples were tested from the qualitative HIV test (PCR In house) from the Pardini Group's Genetics sector. With the aid of a pipette, approximately 70 µl of blood from each sample were dispensed in duplicate, within the circle outlined on the DBS filter paper. DBS was previously identified with the sample data. The DBS with the sample was placed in a tray on a flat surface at room temperature (between 18 and 25°C) for at least 4 hours protected from direct light to dry. After drying, the pre-extraction of the sample was performed and later the samples were placed in the equipment on the cobas® 4800, using the COBAS HIV 1 kit (Roche diagnostics), (qualitative test) for extraction. After the extraction step was complete, the plate was transferred to the cobas z 480 analyzer for detection. All steps were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions. At the end of the tests, the results were compared between the in-house methodology and the cobas® HIV-1 qualitative test. Results The test cobas® HIV-1 qualitative test showed 100% agreement with the in-house methodology for 90/90 negative and 13/13 positive samples. When comparing the test matrix (whole blood or DBS), no significant differences were observed in relation to test sensitivity and specificity. In addition, test automation provided a substantial reduction in test execution time. Conclusion The availability of tests that use DBS as a matrix offer important advantages, especially for children and the elderly, due to greater stability, ease of sample collection and transport. The qualitative cobas® HIV-1 test in DBS has been shown to be a good choice for detecting HIV-1 in infected patients.