M42’s Capital Health Screening Centre (CHSC) conducts 2, 000 AI-assisted chest X-rays daily

UAE – M42’s Capital Health Screening Centre (CHSC), a leading facility for visa screenings, has announced a remarkable milestone in its TB screening efforts, conducting 2,000 AI-assisted chest X-rays daily—a 10-fold increase compared to traditional methods.

This achievement follows the introduction of AIRIS-TB, an advanced AI-powered chest X-ray system for tuberculosis (TB), which was launched in May 2024 at CHSC.

TB continues to pose a significant global health challenge, with the World Health Organization (WHO) setting ambitious goals to eliminate the disease by 2030.

 Screening plays an essential role in achieving this target, as it enables early detection and treatment.

The key symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, chest pain, coughing up blood or phlegm, fever, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss.

In response to the urgency of this issue, CHSC has taken a pioneering step by integrating AI technology into its screening process.

The Department of Health—Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center have fully supported this initiative by developing regulatory standards ensuring effective and safe use of AI tools in healthcare.

Currently in its testing phase, the AI system has demonstrated its ability to differentiate between normal and abnormal chest X-rays with a sensitivity of 99.73 percent.

It automatically flags any abnormalities for further evaluation by radiologists, streamlining the diagnostic process and reducing the time needed for TB detection.

This system has also been optimized to minimize false negative results, which are cleared without human intervention.

To date, the false negative rate is as low as 0.26 percent, with a 37 percent reduction in radiologists’ workload, enabling them to focus on other critical tasks.

The AI model exceeds the WHO-recommended sensitivity (greater than 90 percent) and specificity compared to conventional methods, facilitating earlier detection, intervention, and treatment.

This innovation improves diagnostic accuracy and saves lives by accelerating TB management.

According to Ali Al Saffar, CEO of Capital Health Screening Centre, AIRIS-TB is poised to become the most active AI system for chest X-rays globally.

He emphasized that by reducing radiologists’ manual workload, the system is setting new standards in early TB detection and treatment, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on more complex cases.

Trained on millions of historical X-rays, the AI model has shown outstanding precision, bringing hope to the global effort to eradicate TB for future generations.

The implementation of AI technology in TB screening at CHSC highlights the UAE’s commitment to utilizing advanced healthcare innovations.

 In 2021, WHO estimated the TB incidence rate in the UAE at less than one per 100,000 people, far below the global average of 134 per 100,000, highlighting the UAE’s proactive approach to managing TB and other health concerns.

Dr. Andrew Jeremijenko, Medical Director at CHSC, added that although the initial focus is on TB, the AI model can potentially be trained to detect other lung diseases, including lung cancer, pneumonia, and emphysema, representing a significant move towards broader AI applications in healthcare diagnostics.

M42’s deployment of AI aligns with its broader strategy to leverage data and technology to improve global health outcomes.

By incorporating advanced technologies like AIRIS-TB, CHSC is enhancing its diagnostic capabilities and positioning itself as a leader in medical AI innovation.

This breakthrough demonstrates how cutting-edge technology can play a transformative role in overcoming the challenges posed by tuberculosis and advancing global healthcare

Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and  insights from Africa and the World HERE