Delft Light bolsters Bangladesh’s fight against TB

Bangladesh has a population of more than 169 million and is seriously battling tuberculosis. Over 375000 Bangladeshis are estimated to develop TB annually. Additionally, 68299 are estimated to be missing people with TB, of which more than 19,000 are children.

The current situation can be dramatically improved. The target proposed is a 95% reduction in TB deaths and a 90% reduction in new cases in 20 years.

With WHO and Stop TB Partnership funding, we, alongside IRD, set up a new approach to fight against TB in Bangladesh. The focus was on increasing early case detection, reporting and treating TB, and serving poor communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Under the project, we installed an EasyDR digital X-ray system with CAD4TB. Rolled out using an innovative pay-per-use scheme, the lung screening centre charged a modest fee for every “lung screening.” A part of this fee supported the cost of the X-ray units.

In 2021, Delft Imaging delivered Delft Light to the Ministry of Health and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh. The systems, procured under the iNTP (introducing New Tools Project), supported by USAID and the Stop TB Partnership.

Making a difference

Over the years, several papers have been published researching the different solutions of Delft Imaging and its utilisation in Bangladesh. A 2017 study stated that while the radiologist’s specificity was superior, CAD4TB could save Xpert tests. Another study proved that CAD4TB surpassed the human radiologists’ performance with improved triage ability compared to the older version.