CAD4TBCloud

Description

Early case detection is the most promising strategy to reduce the enormous worldwide burden of tuberculosis (TB). Current tests such as the DNA-based GeneXpert test that has recently been endorsed by WHO and made available in many countries for access prices, are too costly and time-consuming to test every TB suspect. A much cheaper and faster solution is digital X-ray screening as an initial test to select who should undergo GeneXpert. But an X-ray requires human experts to interpret the image. The aim of the project is to demonstrate that the breakthrough technology CAD4TB, a computer software that automatically computes a score within a minute and can thus provide an immediate decision regarding which suspects should receive the more expensive and time-consuming GeneXpert test, is the perfect strategy for early case detection. We aim to do this by building a complete platform called CAD4TBCloud that can be used with any digital X-ray machine anywhere in the world and by providing a detailed cost-benefit analysis. The platform will be tested in Kigali, Rwanda, and Dhaka, Bangladesh to show that our solution is accessible to TB suspects at the bottom of the pyramid.