Diagnostic Evidence Workshops 2026
Monday, 05 October 2026 to Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Nash Suite, Worcester College, Walton Street, Oxford, OX1 2HB
Register hereThree one-day Oxford workshops on evaluating diagnostic tests: basic approaches to diagnostic evidence generation and synthesis, statistical methods for test evaluation, and cost-effectiveness of diagnostics for NHS adoption. For diagnostics companies, researchers, funders and regulators. From £175 per day.
Bring a diagnostic technology to the NHS and one question decides everything: what's your evidence?
These three one-day workshops teach you how to answer it – how diagnostic tests are evaluated, how to analyse diagnostic performance data yourself, and how the cost-effectiveness of diagnostics is assessed before adoption.
The series builds on the educational programme delivered before COVID by the NIHR Community Healthcare MedTech & IVD Co-operative. It is taught by academic clinicians, information specialists, behavioural scientists, statisticians and health economists with expertise in value-based healthcare and NICE evaluations.
- Workshop 1 (Monday 5 October): An introduction to evaluation of diagnostics
- Workshop 2 (Tuesday 6 October): Statistical methods for diagnostic accuracy in medical research
- Workshop 3 (Wednesday 7 October): Cost-effectiveness analysis of diagnostic tests for development and adoption
Each day stands alone – book one, two or all three depending on your needs. £175 per day if you book by 28 August 2026; £200 thereafter. Maximum 20 places per workshop.
Who should attend: innovators seeking a grounding in diagnostic test evaluation – particularly small and medium enterprises – plus researchers, clinicians, research funders and regulatory-affairs organisations.
No prior knowledge is needed for Workshop 1; prerequisites for Workshops 2 and 3 are listed on each workshop page.
Course leads:
- Professor Gail Hayward, University of Oxford and Clinical Director, NIHR HRC in Community Healthcare.
- Dr Sophie Hyndman, University of Oxford and Deputy Director of the NIHR Research Support Service Hub delivered by the University of Southampton and Partners.
- Dr Tom Fanshawe, University of Oxford and NIHR HRC in Community Healthcare.
- Dr Jason Oke, University of Oxford and NIHR HRC in Community Healthcare.
- Dr Rositsa Koleva-Kolarova, University of Oxford and NIHR HRC in Community Healthcare.
- Dr Jane Wolstenholme, University of Oxford and NIHR HRC in Community Healthcare.
- Professor Chris Hyde, University of Exeter and NIHR HRC in Sustainable Innovation.
>Downloadable provisional program will be available soon
INTRODUCTION TO EVALUATION OF DIAGNOSTICS
The opening workshop of the series will be taught by front-line diagnostics researchers and will provide participants with a basic overview of the components which one might employ for the evaluation of diagnostic tests, including basic health economics and statistics, searching for evidence, pragmatic study design, and behavioural and qualitative methods. Colleagues from the NIHR Research Support Service will discuss NIHR funding and give their top tips for the development of competitive funding applications.
PREREQUISITES and requirements
There are no prerequisites for attendance. The workshop has been formulated so that it is accessible to all who have an interest in gaining a basic understanding of the evaluation of diagnostic tests. Attendees will need to bring a laptop computer with them in order to fully engage with the session on evidence searching.
COURSE STYLE
The course will consist of three sessions of seminars separated by lunch and refreshment breaks. Some of the seminars will incorporate short practical exercises.
Course content (subject to minor changes)
1. Tests as part of a clinical pathway
2. Basic statistics for diagnostic medicine
3. Searching for existing evidence on diagnostic tests
4. Introduction to study design for pragmatic evaluation of diagnostics
5. Behavioural science and qualitative approaches to test evaluation
6. Basic health economics for diagnostic evaluation
7. Top tips for applying for NIHR funding
In collaboration with: NIHR Research Support Service
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY IN MEDICAL RESEARCH
This one-day course is designed for researchers who want to analyse their own diagnostic accuracy data. Typically, this will be analysis on results from research carried out in an early development/exploratory phase but the methods covered will also be applicable to research where tests are studied in a clinical setting. Participants will gain hands-on experience of analysing diagnostic accuracy data in computer practical sessions using the free statistical software R (https://cran.r-project.org/).
Prerequisites.
Participants should have a basic understanding of statistics up to the level of confidence intervals and p-values. A rudimentary knowledge of the basics of diagnostic accuracy would be advantageous, but not required as we will revise the basics in the first session. Participants will be expected to bring their own laptops and have R and/or RStudio installed.
By taking this course:
Participants will increase their understanding of common measures of diagnostic accuracy, learn how to calculate these measures using data and quantify uncertainty in their estimates. They will learn when and how to use ROC analysis, how to compare two diagnostic tests and understand methods for finding optimal thresholds.
Course content in detail
1. Summary estimates of diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios and other measures)
2. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC)
3. Comparing the accuracy of two tests (paired and unpaired designs)
4. Methods for finding optimal thresholds (including interpretation of the ROC curve, and net-benefit analysis)
COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION.
This one day course aims to explain how cost-effectiveness analysis of diagnostic tests is conducted and used in the research, development and evaluation of diagnostics. It is aimed at those involved in the development and evaluation of diagnostics, in both academic and commercial settings.
Prerequisites
Participants should have a basic understanding of measures of diagnostic accuracy and clinical effectiveness, as well as basic descriptive statistics (means, ranges). Previous knowledge of cost-effectiveness concepts would be an advantage, but these are not necessary as they will be revised in the first session. For the practical session, participants will need a laptop with Microsoft Excel installed.
By taking this course
Participants will revise the core concepts underlying cost-effectiveness analysis, including incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. They will learn how diagnostic tests can be evaluated using cost-effectiveness methods, and will get practical experience of working with a pre-built decision model and performing sensitivity analysis to understand how the cost-effectiveness of a diagnostic intervention is impacted under different model input assumptions. They will also learn about the diagnostic evaluation evidence requirements used by NICE, and consider contemporary issues related to cost-effectiveness analysis of diagnostics.
Course content (subject to minor changes)
1. Introduction to cost-effectiveness for diagnostics
2. Generating and using cost-effectiveness evidence for diagnostics
3. Practical: Identifying evidence, decision modelling, and evaluating determinants of cost-effectiveness
4. Evidence for implementation in routine clinical practice – NICE evaluations
5. Evidencing the 'value' in value-based healthcare
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