- This X-Ray Machine Will Provide Information About TB Within One Minute: Dr. Surya Kant
- AI-Enabled X-Ray Is a Major Step Towards TB Elimination: Dr. Sonia Nityanand, Vice-Chancellor, KGMU
Lucknow: Taking an important step towards strengthening diagnostic facilities for TB (Tuberculosis), a handheld portable X-ray machine equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has been installed in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, by the Uttar Pradesh State TB Cell.
With the help of portable X-ray technology, patients can undergo X-ray examinations at the point of diagnosis and treatment without being taken to a conventional X-ray centre. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has also been integrated into the machine, which helps in analysing chest X-rays and identifying potential abnormal signs associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. This will make it easier to assess the disease at an early stage and help initiate timely treatment.
Head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Dr. Surya Kant, stated that adequate modern digital X-ray facilities are already available in our department. Despite this, the newly introduced portable machine equipped with AI technology will increase the speed of examinations and provide greater ease and convenience to patients. With the help of this machine, an X-ray image becomes available in approximately one minute. Additionally, X-ray images can also be shared directly with patients or their family members through WhatsApp for future reference.
A large number of patients visit our department. In such a situation, this technology will help improve the X-ray examination system and reduce patient overcrowding. The machine can be easily moved from one place to another, enabling X-ray examinations of critically ill and immobile patients right at their bedsides.
Dr. Surya Kant, National Vice-Chairman of the National Task Force under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, stated that this machine can also be used in free health and TB screening camps. This will help in actively identifying TB patients within the community and detecting the disease at an early stage. This machine will prove to be an important supportive tool in our collective fight against TB and in advancing the objectives of the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. I sincerely express my gratitude to the Uttar Pradesh State TB Cell for this useful initiative.
On this occasion, practical training on operating the machine was also provided to the X-ray technicians of the department.
Vice Chancellor of KGMU, Dr. Sonia Nityanand, congratulated the Department of Respiratory Medicine on this significant achievement. She stated that the installation of an AI-enabled handheld portable X-ray machine is a major step towards the early detection of TB and effective screening. This modern technology will provide patients with access to diagnostic facilities within a shorter time. This initiative will play an important role in achieving the national goal of TB elimination. Appreciating the department’s efforts, she expressed the expectation that the department would continue to provide better healthcare services to patients through modern technologies in the future as well.
On the occasion of the installation of the machine, Dr. Rajesh Jha, State TB Officer; Dr. Rishi Saxena, Deputy State TB Officer, Uttar Pradesh; Dr. Darshan K. Bajaj, Nodal Officer; Dr. Jyoti Bajpai, Associate Professor; and Dr. Ankit Katiyar, Associate Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, KGMU, were present. Senior and junior resident doctors of the department, along with the staff of the DOTS Centre, were also present on the occasion.
The Department of Respiratory Medicine also operates a state-of-the-art Pulmonary Rehabilitation Centre (PRC), equipped with modern facilities. It provides comprehensive rehabilitation services free of cost to patients suffering from respiratory diseases. These also include patients suffering from Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease (PTLD), which develops after TB. The new X-ray machine will also help in the examination of PTLD patients, assessment of the disease through X-rays and regular follow-up. This will make better treatment and care of these patients possible.
The department also regularly organises free health and TB screening camps in rural, underprivileged and slum areas of Lucknow and nearby regions. The availability of an AI-equipped portable X-ray machine will further strengthen these camps. The facility of conducting chest X-rays at the camp site itself will enable the screening of a larger number of people and make it easier to identify suspected TB patients at an early stage. This technology will prove particularly useful in remote areas and regions with limited healthcare facilities.
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