🧩 Running Your First Test

If you’ve reached this point in the Installation and Setup flow🔗, congratulations! By now, you should have covered the following in this order:

1. 📝 Set out a robust local validation plan
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2. 🔌 Prepared operation
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3. 💡 Familiarised yourself with the display and light indicators
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4. 🖥️ Accessed and navigated the interface
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5. 🌍 Localised
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6. 🤖 Ensured you’re running the latest software
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7. 🥼 Added and managed operator profiles
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8. ♨️ Familiarised yourself with the Incubation tab
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9. 🌡️ Verified temperature accuracy
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10. 🎛️ Completed the initial calibrations
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11. 🧩 Understood how to prepare Delvotest® plates
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If you have missed any of the steps above, we strongly recommend revisiting them before proceeding. Otherwise, if this is all clear and covered, it’s now finally time to start your first test!

Required Reference Materials

To get started, make sure you have the following ready:

• 1x Plate (either Delvotest® T or Delvotest® SP NT) 
• 1x Perforated foil (included in your box of Delvotest® plates)
• 1x Roller
• 1x Timer
• Sufficient samples, including at least one validated negative control and one validated positive control // check local validation, application protocol and working principle
• Sufficient single-use pipette tips and a pipettor to maintain hygienic, consistent sample application

Display and Light Indicators

Throughout the next steps, the DAS will communicate certain important changes on its display🔗, and through its light indicators🔗. Importantly, at some points you will also need to take action via one of three buttons🔗located on top of the display. When and where that happens, we'll highlight that clearly with notes denoting 🔲 for the display, and 🚦for the light indicators.

Step-by-Step Guide

One of the most critical aspects of starting a test on the DAS comes down to having a locally optimised application protocol🔗 that efficiently addresses the so-called 'time between steps' when preparing a plate—particularly between the total amount of time it takes from first to last sample filling🔗, and from the last sample to the start of incubation🔗, as taking too long can impact the accuracy of results. To help you mitigate this during your first test, this guide has been designed to reflect an application protocol approach where techniques such as layout automation🔗 and/or automated pipetting is not quite yet in place. To achieve this, we'll therefore maximise data readiness before physically preparing the plate. Keep in mind though that what works best for you is yours to figure out, and if you'd like any advice or support, just contact us at support@delvotest.com.

Step 1 // Reach operating temperature
Once you switch on the DAS, it will:

1.1. Perform a quick initialisation
🚦 = ⬜⬜⬜
🔲 = Self-checking

1.2. Then begin heating towards 64°C (±2°C)
🚦 = ⬜🟦🟩

1.3. And, once stable, indicate it's ready to start testing 
🚦 = ⬜⬜🟩
🔲,➖ = Idle mode

Step 2 // Enter sample data
Go to the Layout section and enter any relevant information about your samples. As a minimum, we recommend indicating at least one POSITIVE and one NEGATIVE reference control sample via the Positive and Negative checkboxes on the Cell Data Panel Subsection. Optionally, you can also add a high-level note for this test in the Comments field, such as, for example, 'My first test'.

Step 3 // Select an operator
Go to the interface and open the Incubation tab. Then click on the Operator dropdown field and select an operator.

Once you've done that, you should see the following changes:

🚦 = 🟥🟦⬜
🔲 1. UserID status will become 'checked' (✔️)

Step 4 // Prepare plate

4.1. Take your Delvotest® plate and peel off its foil.

4.2. Start the timer.

4.3. Start pipetting samples in every plate-well., trying to finish this task within a maximum of 15 minutes. 

4.4. Cover the plate with the perforated foil.

4.5. Use the roller to evenly secure the perforated foil over the plate.

4.6. Leave the timer running.

Step 5 // Enter barcode data
Open the lid, and place the plate on the heating grid. The DAS's barcode scanner should pick up the plate's information, automatically updating the Batch number and Plate number fields in the Incubation tab's Checklist section. Once that's done, you should see the following changes:

🔲 2. Barcode status will become 'checked' (✔️)

❗If this doesn't work, you'll need to enter this data manually🔗.

Step 6 // Close the lid
Close the lid. You should see the following changes:

🔲 3. Close lid status will become 'checked' (✔️)
🔲,➖ = Press ▶️

Step 7 // Start

6.2. On the Incubation tab click on the Next button. The screen should automatically refresh, showing the following:

6.1. Go to the top of the DAS's display and physically press the ▶️ Start button. You should see the following changes:

🔲 = Running

Back on the interface, the screen should automatically refresh, showing a Running report page:

Step 8 // Monitor progress
Every 5 seconds, the Running report page will update, eventually showing individual Z-value results for every plate-well and other information about the test, such as the Elapsed time, Leaders Z-Value, Temperature, and more.

Step 9 // Check results
Once the testing is done, the Running report page will update to the following view:

Next Steps

Congratulations, you’ve completed your first test! The Running report page's first view of your results is not however the only report available—there's a wealth of data available to explore. In the next article, we introduce the different types of data producing during and after testing, and how to make the most out of each.