AI to Join India’s Fight Against TB, Says Experts

In the India Innovation Summit that concluded last week, top medical experts from various parts of the country chose the top five innovations out of 228 advanced-level ideas from across the globe. Innovations were scored on the basis of their readiness for human use, cost-effectiveness and scope of implementation in India, particularly within the country’s national TB elimination program. Now the use of AI, in the form of quick strip tests and drone detection of patients in remote areas, will also join the fight against TB.

National TB Elimination Program

Inaugurated by the union minister of state for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patil, the summit sought to pioneer solutions to end TB. The event, held at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre, was organised by the joint effort of the Department of Health Research of the Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR-ICMR) and the Central TB division (CTB) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

Highlighting India’s ambitious plan to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target, Anupriya Patil stated, “The program is steadily progressing towards the goal of eliminating TB by 2025. The number of missing cases has been reduced from 15 lakh in 2015 to 2.5 lakh in 2023. The program was able to notify 25.5 lakh and 26 lakh TB cases in 2023 and 2024, the highest ever.”