AI-based diagnostic tools boosting TB, diabetes care: Centre

NEW DELHI: The government is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to drive transformative change in public health services, especially to tackle the burden of tuberculosis and diabetes across the country, said the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Jadhav said that the Ministry of Health has designated AIIMS Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh, and AIIMS Rishikesh as ‘Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Artificial Intelligence’ to promote the development and use of AI-based solutions in Health.

“The Ministry has developed AI solutions, including the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) in e-Sanjeevani, a Diabetic Retinopathy (DR identification solution), and the Abnormal Chest X-ray Classifier Model, among others,” he added.

MadhuNetrAI (DR identification solution) is an AI solution developed to enable non-specialist health workers to conduct screenings for Diabetic Retinopathy. It automates DR detection by analysing retinal fundus images using artificial intelligence, ensuring standardized, accessible, and efficient triage.

It classifies DR across standard grades, enabling optimized resource allocation by prioritising urgent cases for specialist referral.

“The solution has been implemented across 38 facilities in 11 states and provided AI assistance during screening of more than 14,000 retinal images, benefiting 7,100 patients,” Jadhav said.

Under the Tuberculosis elimination programme, ‘Cough against TB’ (CATB) AI solution is used for screening for pulmonary TB in the community settings. In the deployed geographies, the solution has shown an additional yield of 12-16 percent in TB reported, over patient screenings using conventional methods.

“Between March 2023 and November 30, 2025, the CATB solution has been utilized to screen more than 1.62 lakh individuals,” the Minister said.

The ‘Clinical Decision Support System’ (CDSS) AI solution has been integrated into the national telemedicine platform, eSanjeevani, to enhance consultation quality by streamlining patient complaints entry and providing AI-based differential diagnosis recommendations. (IANS)

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