AI-enabled healthcare has emerged as a sunrise sector across the globe. Qure.ai has been at the forefront of enabling AI-powered solutions to provide universal lung health. AI has brought about a global disruption in healthcare services, making quality healthcare accessible and affordable to more people. Qure has been associated with frontline healthcare providers across global markets like Southeast Asia, Europe, the US, and Latin America to effectively curb pulmonary diseases and bring in AI-powered healthcare solutions in the fight against lung cancer, and COPD, among others.
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Mumbai is the most populous Indian city and home to more than 10 lac migrant workers. It houses some of the largest slums in the world with severe space constraints. The city recorded its first COVID-19 case on 11th March, 2020. By 31st March, the city had recorded 64 cases & 9 deaths. While Mumbai has 1% population of the country, it has 3% of the Drug sensitive total TB cases and about 14% of total MDR-TB cases registered in the country.
Qure.ai has been associated with Municipal Corporation for Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for the past two years, starting during the peak of the pandemic (Mar 2020). Our solutions were deployed across more than 15 BMC sites including dedicated COVID centres, and mobile screenings in the Covid19 hotspots (Koliwada, and major containment zones) for patient triage. RT PCR kits were scarce and the authorities needed an effective solution to overcome the scaricity to quickly triage patients and monitor postive cases. During the association, our qXR (chest X-Ray) solution was used for identifying asymptomatic patients through radiological indications for further quarantining and testing. Our qTrack solution was used for close monitoring of disease progression of positive patients as caseloads rose.
When it comes to TB, we started our deployment of qXR for TB screening in Dec 2020 as part of the TB reach program. Qure.ai’s solutions are now deployed in the peripheral hospitals and medical colleges in Mumbai for the detection of TB via Chest X Rays. Additionally, qXR is being used for active case finding in Mumbai using RNTEP’s mobile van. The aim is to create a surveillance model for improving incidental TB detection and reducing the time to diagnosis.
Using Qure.ai’s solutions, BMC has been able to pick up 20-30% additional cases of TB using our AI solution, till date. This helps flag any TB presumptive cases from all of the chest X-rays done at the hospitals, even if they were done for other clinical reasons. This helps in identifying and triaging presumptive patients even when they do not fall under the TB screening program. These additional cases are identified over and above the cases that are actively being screened for TB exclusively.
In the case of the RNTEP van, this is especially helpful as the mobile vans require instant results for X-rays to immediately flag the patient and file for further investigative procedures and diagnosis. The patient might be lost or can spread the disease further if not immediately diagnosed and filed for further monitoring – AI helps here to immediately flag the screen chest X Rays as TB presumptive or not any further action can be taken immediately – like sputum collection. 45,000+ chest X-rays have been screened with AI for TB so far. We have been able to screen 35K + patients under the COVID purview.
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