Abu dhabi: M42 announced that its flagship visa screening centre, Capital Health Screening Centre (CHSC), is now able to conduct 2,000 AI-assisted chest X-rays daily to screen for TB – a 10-fold increase compared with traditional methods.
This follows M42’s unveiling of AIRIS-TB, a pioneering AI-powered chest X-ray for tuberculosis (TB) in May 2024.
CHSC has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to enhance TB screening through the integration of AI technology, which is adopted and supported by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre through the preparation of regulatory standards that ensure the optimal use of these technologies to obtain accurate and effective results.
The revolutionary AI system, which is still in the testing phase and yet to be rolled out fully across CHSC, easily distinguishes between normal and abnormal chest X-rays, flagging any abnormalities for radiologist evaluation with a sensitivity of 99.73 percent.
By streamlining the diagnostic process,
radiologists can rapidly and accurately detect TB cases, significantly enhancing their efficiency. This improvement reduces the time required for diagnosis.
The model was optimised to reduce false negative detections, which can be cleared without human intervention. The results to date show a false negative rate of just 0.26 percent, sensitivity of 99.73 percent, and a workload reduction of 37 percent.
The model easily achieves WHO-recommended sensitivity (>90 percent) and specificity compared to conventional methods, enabling earlier detection, intervention and treatment. This not only saves lives but also contributes to advancing global health and well-being.
Ali Al Saffar, Chief Executive Officer of Capital Health Screening Centre, said, ‘AIRIS-TB is set to be the most active AI system for chest X-rays in the world. With AIRIS-TB’s assistance, this manual workload has been significantly reduced for Radiologists, enabling our team to focus on other areas, setting new benchmarks to help us lead the cha
rge in early detection and treatment. Trained on millions of historical X-rays, the AI model has demonstrated remarkable accuracy, offering renewed hope in achieving a TB-free world for future generations.’
Dr. Andrew Jeremijenko, Medical Director at Capital Health Screening Centre, said, ‘While the initial focus is on TB, the AI model has the potential to be trained to detect other conditions such as lung cancer, pneumonia, and emphysema. This marks a significant step towards broader applications of AI in healthcare diagnostics.’
M42’s deployment of AI aligns with the tech-enabled global health powerhouse’s broader strategy to leverage data and technology for improved health outcomes.
By integrating AI into TB screening, CHSC is enhancing its diagnostic capabilities and positioning itself as a leader in medical AI innovation. The use of advanced technologies like AIRIS-TB at CHSC demonstrates the transformative power of innovation in overcoming the challenges posed by tuberculosis.
Source: Emirates News
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