As a quarter of TB cases are estimated to be missed in 2020, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program of Uganda, used Delft Light with CAD4TB for a TB case finding at health facilities serving for high TB burden districts, and for community outreach in TB hotspots and populations with a high risk of TB.

At Health Facility Settings between June 2020 and May 2021, 1.308 individuals were screened with X-ray, 281 (21%) had abnormal X-ray, 241 (86%) were tested by GeneXpert, and 35 (14%) were confirmed with TB (72% males, 51% HIV positive, 54% TB contacts). 

At Community Settings in March 2021, 1,403 individuals were screened with X-rays, 189 (13.5%) had abnormal X-rays and were tested by GeneXpert, and 12 (6.3%) were confirmed with TB. 

These numbers conclude that TB screening using mobile digital X-ray has a higher yield of TB when used at health facilities compared to the community settings, especially among PLHIV and TB contact. Thus, it is recommended to the national TB programs and partners for the scale-up of using digital X-ray systems with CAD4TB to screen targeted high-risk populations to improve early case detection. 

Reference: The 52nd UNION conference “Optimizing use of mobile digital X-ray with CAD4TB among populations at increased risk for TB to increase Tuberculosis case detection in Uganda”, Dr. Aldo Burua, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program, Uganda