Mobile clinic screening with artificial intelligence
During the 49th Union World Conference in The Hague in October this year, TB experts from some 125 countries convened in the World Forum. Central to this gathering of experts were new innovations and developments in the area of TB control. KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation was local host of the conference and presented on a number of innovative projects as well as research results. The OneStopTB truck, a solar-powered mobile clinic, is a striking example of such innovations.
OneStopTB
Tuberculosis is curable and yet it remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease with over 4,000 deaths per day. One of the major challenges in TB control, is finding those people who are unaware they are contagious and who therefore risk transferring the disease to others. The OneStopTB clinic can even reach people in the most remote places. This KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation initiative, combines X-ray and lab innovations with unique software (developed by Delft Imaging Systems) that allows photos to be assessed without the need for a radiologist. As a result, those patients detected with TB are able to start treatment the same day. 300 people can be tested daily for TB, anywhere in the world via the deployment of just one of these trucks.
More Dutch innovations
One of the OneStopTB trucks could be seen during the Union World Conference in the Holland Pavilion area of the World Forum. Philips, Topicus, the RIVM, and the Dutch network of TB researchers also presented new developments in the area of TB control. During the ‘Dutch inspiration afternoon’ in the freely accessible Community Space a glimpse was given into the past, present and future of TB control in the Netherlands and the deployment of Dutch expertise and experience worldwide.