Indian startup Qure.ai last week announced the company's separate partnerships to have its AI-powered software used for screening various diseases such as COVID-19 and tuberculosis.

It teamed up with Fujifilm Corporation to equip the brand's smart radiograph system with artificial intelligence, while it also partnered with AstraZeneca Malaysia to use its AI diagnostics software to support the early detection of lung cancer in Malaysia.

WHY IT MATTERS

Qure.ai brings qXR, its deep-learning AI technology software, to Fujifilm's portable X-ray FDR Xair system, enabling the device to analyse radiographs and detect abnormal findings within seconds. The integration of the AI software into the device was made possible through an image processing box called Expansion Unit EX-Mobile.

In a statement, Koji Wada, general manager of Fujifilm India's medical division, said their collaboration will support the expansion of tuberculosis screening in India and other developing countries where access to healthcare services is limited.

India accounted for a quarter, or around 2.64 million, of global TB cases in 2019. According to the India Health Fund, the disease is costing the country as much as $3 billion yearly.

"Fujifilm and Qure’s technology will deliver a support tool to assist the care providers for accurate diagnosis faster. With the help of [t]echnology and special examination, we can diagnose the disease while it is asymptomatic, with no signs or symptoms. The earlier detection of disease may lead to more cures or longer survival," Wada said.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, together with the Lung Cancer Network Malaysia (LCNM), has provided and funded the installation of Qure.ai's AI software in 10 primary care clinics of Qualitas Medical Group across Malaysia. 

Their partnership aims to "shift the detection of lung cancer to an earlier stage". In Malaysia, nine in 10 lung cases are diagnosed at stage three or four. The disease is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the country.

"We hope the integration of the AI x-ray solution at the primary care clinics will improve referral and timely diagnosis of patients with possible lung cancer and eventually, reduce lung cancer mortality rates in Malaysia," said Dr Sanjeev Panchal, country president of AstraZeneca Malaysia.

Dr Panchal said detecting suspected lung cancer patients at an early stage could "double" their five-year survival rate. "This is our end goal for lung cancer management in Malaysia, and with the combined expertise and collaboration of our partners, we are confident that it is something we can achieve," he said.

"Lung cancer treatment and prognosis is very stage-dependent, hence the importance of a timely diagnosis. Utilising deep learning AI technology, we hope to expedite diagnosis with rapid referral to a relevant specialist. Ultimately, we hope to achieve stage shift and detect more early-stage disease that is amenable to curative treatment,” LCNM President Dr Anand Sachithanandan also stated.

THE LARGER TREND

This month, Qure.ai also collaborated with PATH, a non-profit global health group, to make its AI bot available to physicians in India. Qure’s AI bot, which runs on the Telegram app, enables swift triaging for COVID-19.

The health technology startup has been working with AstraZeneca since December under the biopharmaceutical firm's Emerging Markets Health Innovation Hubs programme. Their collaboration aims to use AI technology for the early detection of lung cancer in emerging market regions, including Latin America, Asia and the Middle East and Africa.

Last year also saw Qure.ai's partnership with the UK's Bolton NHS Foundation Trust for the efficient monitoring of COVID-19 patients through automated interpretation of their chest radiographs.