New AI-powered portable X-ray machines to help early detection and treatment of TB in the Philippines

[Clinician operating a portable X-ray scanner]

[Clinician looking at a sample X-ray]

[Screen showing green cloud and warning signs with X-ray which means it is positive for TB]

Dr. Clarissa Dayrit-Halum (interview): “It is a game changer, for the simple reason that this artificial intelligence are equipped to know the landmarks and the parameters to check if an X-ray film has possessed or has a characteristic of a TB patient. So these are all installed in our machines, in our X-ray machines, and then the reading… The doctors will still evaluate all the readings of our AI. Don’t get me wrong. They still read the results. It’s just that it’s faster. The accuracy and specificity of our AI is very high, no less than 99%.”

[X-ray sample showing a positive indicator that the patient has TB]

Dr. Clarissa Dayrit-Halum (interview): “The X-ray itself is really fast. It’s the interpretation of the result, which takes long, because it’s a batch evaluation of the radiologist, with the AI. So within five minutes, because of the artificial intelligence, we are able to see from our screen, patients who we will be recommending for testing, to use gene expert. Before we had to wait at least three to four days before the result comes out. But now, three to five minutes, we’re able to recommend our patients to go through testing, which is the gene expert.”

[Exteriors of Elderly Health Care Center building in Makati City]

Dr. Camilio Cesar R. Baluyot (interview): “This mobile X-ray will help in the screening, it will accelerate the screening of the patients and it will lead to a faster and even increase the volume of patients for a given regular time as compared to the conventional regular screening on X-rays.”

[Portable X-ray set]

Dr. Clarissa Dayrit-Halum (interview): “It’s one of the best tool that we can use to eliminate TB in the country. For the simple reason that if we go back to the old ways, we’re in, we have to wait at least three days for a radiologist to read a chest x-ray before this patient can be asked to be tested. It will take a long time. And when you say it takes a long time, that patient is already able to spread the bacteria, because you cannot contain that patient and tell that patient not to go out until and when the result comes out.”

[Patients waiting outside a clinic]

[World TB Day poster]

[Patients waiting outside a clinic]

[World TB Day poster]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.