New technology is being developed to aid in the screening and monitoring of lung diseases.
India had a high burden of tuberculosis, with about 2.64 million cases and 75,000 deaths. A large number of these illnesses originate in impoverished, isolated communities with little access to healthcare. Triaging, screening, and monitoring it quickly and at scale with limited resources is a big problem.
A research conducted by the Bengaluru-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Creation Office (FCDO) has resulted in the development of a technology that promises to provide a quick, low-cost, easy-to-use, and point-of-care solution.
It’s a smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence. Through the use of Artificial Intelligence, a person may just cough into a mobile phone and obtain an assessment of whether or not he or she is suffering from any lung ailment. After that, a doctor might go through the report and decide what to do next.
Salcit Technologies, a C-CAMP-supported start-up, was the first to create the Swaasa platform for general lung evaluation. Following that, C-CAMP collaborated with Andhra Medical College (AMC) and PATH, an international, non-profit health organisation located in Seattle, to extend and enhance this platform to triage for COVID-19, in addition to TB, as part of a consortium project funded by the FCDO. While tuberculosis has always been an issue, COVID-19, a lung illness, appears to have no end in sight.
According to a press statement from C-CAMP, the technology’s development, validation, and pilot deployment have all been exceedingly promising, with COVID-19 triaging findings indicating over 95 percent sensitivity under laboratory circumstances. There will be further testing done in the field. C-CAMP will continue to catalyse commercialization efforts through its national and worldwide ecosystem, which involves various stakeholders from business, government, clinical, and the investor community, according to the statement.
In the presence of Dr. Niranjan Joshi, Associate Programme Lead, C-CAMP, Dr. P.V Sudhakar, Former Principal, Andhra Medical College, Dr. K.V.V. Vijaya Kumar, Superintendent, Chest & TB Hospital, and Mr. Manmohan Jain, CSO, Salcit Technologies, the technology was demonstrated to the British Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Dr. Andrew Fleming.
“After the success of the UK-India Astra-Zeneca vaccine cooperation, our bilateral health tech alliance continues to grow with this AI solution,” stated Dr. Andrew Fleming. The health-care system might save a significant amount of money and time as a result of this.” He also tested the technology’s functioning by taking the exam on the spot, using the Swaasa app, in under a minute.
“I applaud C-CAMP for bringing all of us together on one platform,” Dr. Vijaya Kumar stated. This type of tool is quite beneficial to us. This will relieve the hospital of a significant amount of stress. We want to see this technique used to treat additional lung diseases such as Asthma, Bronchitis, and COPD.”
“For more than ten years, C-CAMP has played a vital role in India in allowing deep-tech breakthroughs from a very early stage with entrepreneurship as a vehicle,” stated Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director of C-CAMP. More than 300 inventions have been funded so far. C-achievements CAMP’s are exemplified by this AI platform. These technologies, if developed and validated, will have an influence not just in India, but also in other low- and middle-income countries throughout the world.”
