VinBrain and FIT Jointly Release a White Paper on Utilizing Artificial Intelligence in Tuberculosis Screening

On June 10, 2021, VinBrain (Vingroup) and FIT (a German NGO working in the field of Tuberculosis prevention and control) jointly release a white paper on utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and screening in Vietnam. The white paper provides doctors and medical specialists with a better understanding of the current situation of TB diagnosis, as well as introducing the AI model v1 for TB diagnosis and screening with a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of up to 96.1%.

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of deaths worldwide from an infectious disease, second only to COVID-19. Vietnam ranks 11th among the world's 30 highest TB burden countries. However, according to the National TB Control Program, about 62% of people with active, transmissible TB disease would have been missed if they had been screened using the standard diagnostic algorithm, which relied on verbal screen for prolonged cough.

With the determination to improve the current situation of TB diagnosis and treatment to save more lives, VinBrain and FIT have collaborated to write and release a white paper on "Utilizing AI in reading Chest X-rays for TB screening in Vietnam".

The white paper provides an overview of the current situation of TB diagnosis and screening in Vietnam, and introduces the AI model developed by VinBrain which helps improve the accuracy in reading Chest X-rays for TB diagnosis and screening. The solution has been developed via several steps including system design, data collection and labeling, pre-processing and model training, model evaluation, model deployment and monitoring.

To develop the AI model, VinBrain utilized the Cloud Computing platform of Microsoft Windows Azure. On Windows Azure, VinBrain has built, deployed, and managed the model applications through Microsoft's global datacenters. In total, more than 500,000 TB X-ray images from Vietnam, India and China were collected. After filtering out the poor-quality images, 185,486 images were cleaned for model training, evaluation and testing. The AI model v1 for TB diagnosis and screening developed by VinBrain (launched on January 5, 2021) achieved a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of up to 96.1 %.

"The white paper on utilizing AI in TB diagnosis and screening has harnessed new tools and technologies to improve the current situation of the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which has been considered to be 'incurable'. Technological solutions will help Vietnam to achieve its national goal of ending TB by 2030. This not only reflects Vingroup's determination to build a better society, but also affirms its right strategy of investing in industry and high technology," - Mr. Steven Truong, CEO of VinBrain, said.

VinBrain has integrated the AI model for TB diagnosis and screening into DrAid - its "Doctor Assistant". DrAid is an AI-powered product which can detect 21 abnormalities and diseases of heart - lung - bone with an average accuracy of over 88% within 5 seconds, and auto-generate medical reports. Thanks to this integration, the AI model can diagnose TB disease simultaneously with other lung diseases and abnormalities.

Doctors can now use DrAid to detect and screen TB by uploading X-ray images directly from the X-ray machines to the system and receiving diagnostic suggestions by AI.

Chest X-ray (CXR) is an effective and cost-effecient tool for TB diagnostic and classification. Hence, utilizing AI in reading CXR will help find and treat more persons with TB, and thereby cut down community transmission./.

About VinBrain

VinBrain is the leading AI for Healthcare products company in Vietnam, funded by Vingroup - the largest conglomerate by market capitalization in Vietnam. Our mission is to infuse AI and IoT into healthcare to improve human lives and productivity. VinBrain aims to provide equitable access for everyone to the best healthcare solutions, knowledge, and services. DrAid - AI doctor assistant developped by VinBran - is the first AI-powered healthcare product in Vietnam. To date, it has been deployed in 84 hospitals and medical facilities across the country, including key hospitals such as Hue Central Hospital, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City, Thai Nguyen Central Hospital.

About Friends for International Tuberculosis Relief (FIT)

FIT is a German NGO working in the field of TB prevention and control. Since starting work in Viet Nam in 2013, FIT has helped up to 4.4 million people and 6,500 TB patients. FIT VN and its affiliates currently have donor commitments to provide TB-related services in 22 districts of six major provinces of Viet Nam. Major sponsors and partners include the Stop TB Partnership/UNOPS, European Union Horizon 2020 program, World Health Organization, and CDC Foundation, as well as industry stakeholders such as Johnson & Johnson, Otsuka and Qiagen. Lastly, FIT has been a sub-recipient of US government funding from USAID.