DrAid for TB Screening, a solution developed from VinBrain’s innovative and visionary approach to applying advanced technology, aligns with the stringent criteria of the Fund
VinBrain, a pioneering AI HealthTech company within Vingroup conglomerate, has officially signed a commercial agreement with Global Fund to transfer Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for Tuberculosis (TB) screening and detection as part of Vietnam’s National Tuberculosis Prevention Campaign. VinBrain is the sole entity chosen for this agreement with Global Fund in 2024. DrAid for TB Screening, a solution developed from VinBrain’s innovative and visionary approach to applying advanced technology, aligns with the stringent criteria of the Fund, contributing to community health and progress.
The accuracy of DrAid for TB Screening is up to 95 per cent, reducing the time for disease detection and lowering screening costs.
The collaboration aims to transform TB detection using advanced AI technology, significantly reducing diagnosis time by analyzing X-ray images. This eliminates the need for extra TB bacterial PCR tests, cutting screening costs from $50-60 to only $1. Furthermore, the AI outputs its results in a file or QR code format, reducing environmental impact. Under this agreement, VinBrain plans to transfer the technology of 32 AI licenses, enabling the screening of 1 million suspected TB cases starting in April 2024. This marks the largest scale initiative of its kind to date.
This approach effectively addresses geographical barriers, making healthcare accessible to underserved regions by the ability to quickly identify abnormal TB regions in chest X-ray images within 15-20 seconds. Ultimately, this agreement contribute to the elimination of TB in Vietnam by 2035.
DrAid for TB Screening, with a sensitivity and specificity of up to 96 per cent, has long been a reliable diagnostic tool for doctors in Vietnam. Dr Pham Ngoc Thanh, Head of the Medical Imaging Department at Hai Phong Lung Hospital, said: “The accuracy of reading X-ray images from DrAid™ for TB Screening is up to 95 per cent in about 1,000 suspected TB patients.”
“VinBrain, as one of the few AI HealthTech companies worldwide, has chosen to address TB because it aligns seamlessly with our company’s mission since its inception”, stated Steven Truong, Founder and CEO, VinBrain.
Developed entirely by Vietnamese experts using a dataset of 4 million machine learning samples, DrAid for TB Screening has been validated and successfully deployed in many hospitals nationwide by reputable independent organizations worldwide such as the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and Friends for International Tuberculosis Relief (FIT).
This campaign represents a significant contribution to public health, particularly in Vietnam, which remains a high-burden country for TB and drug-resistant TB. With over 12,000-15,000 annual deaths and hundreds of thousands infected, primarily within economically disadvantaged communities, the need for effective solutions is paramount.
In line with VinBrain’s mission and collaborative spirit, DrAid AI-based TB screening solution is preparing to launch a version dedicated to children with a sensitivity of 90.76 per cent and specificity of 89.45 per cent. Hence, DrAid AI for TB Screening surpasses the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation for AI-based TB screening, which specifies a sensitivity of ≥ 90 per cent and specificity of ≥ 70 per cent. This demonstrates that DrAid AI exceeds the WHO criteria by more than 20 points in specificity. This groundbreaking and pioneering technology supports comprehensive TB diagnosis for children aged three to 15 – a group often overlooked in conventional testing methods and prone to misinterpretation of chest X-rays. This advancement marks a significant milestone in the responsible application of AI for societal good, contributing to the advancement of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) values on a global scale.
