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New Delhi: Health-tech startup Qure ai has secured $8 million (over Rs. 72 crore) in grant from the Gates Foundation to develop AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound algorithms as a ‘tool’ for the early detection of tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia.
Through the grant the company will develop an AI-powered point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) tool for TB and pneumonia.
According to the company the planned tool will create a multimodal database of clinical images and signals —-ultrasound, chest X-ray, lung sounds, laboratory markers—open for researchers and innovators globally to to further advance future prevention and identification innovations.
Despite being curable, TB and pneumonia remain among the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, accounting for nearly 1.23 million and 2 million deaths each year, respectively.
However, according to clinical experts, early detection holds potential to combat both deadly infections, particularly in under-resourced settings.
“Over the last 10 years, we have innovated our way around the world, taking AI-enabled X-ray to some of the remotest regions.. Now, with this grant from the Gates Foundation, we are excited to leverage this expertise further to scale and reach more people,” said Prashant Warier, Founder and CEO, Qure ai.
“This grant will allow us to build on the years of continuous innovation we have spearheaded in public health and our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what AI can do for global health,” Dr Justy Antony Chiramal, Project Lead and Clinical Director, Global Health Innovation, Qure ai, added.
The Mumbai-based AI startup has been advancing several AI-driven tools used for screening and diagnosing several diseases and the company is already cited twice in WHO TB screening guidelines.
Furthermore, the company’s algorithms are also being sourced by multinational giants such as AstraZeneca for lung cancer screening in India.
