In mining affected populations, chronic dust exposure can lead to silicosis which in turn is a risk factor for TB. Diagnosis of silicosis is important not only for providing care for silicosis but also for providing TB preventive treatment to prevent the development of active TB disease. In addition, people with silicosis may be eligible for occupational compensation in certain settings, such as in South Africa. Chest X-ray is a critical tool to help screen and detect both TB and silicosis yet the co-existence of TB and silicosis in the same person creates challenges in interpretation of X-ray chest for both diseases.
Having demonstrated high accuracy and even outperforming experienced human readers, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computer-aided detection (CAD) products are currently WHO-recommended for the screening and triage of TB disease in adults aged 15 years and older. However, many TB-CAD products are not yet independently validated for the detection of other, often co-occurring, lung diseases, including silicosis. Current literature suggests the potential of several CAD products for silicosis detection, however both the literature and the breadth of commercially available CAD products capable of detecting both TB and silicosis are limited, despite the clear necessity of such tools.
Recognizing the significance of the intersection between occupational health and TB and its potential to improve the clinical management of TB and lung health outcomes more comprehensively for under-served populations, the Stop TB Partnership and Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD), Department of Health, South Africa, are launching a new initiative aimed at accelerating the development and validation of CAD to detect TB and silicosis disease in current and former miners.
CAD for Silicosis Challenge
We are seeking to identify potential partners interested in improving their CAD algorithms through access to evaluating existing solutions and access to a training set to improve performance. Details of the activity can be found here.
Stop TB Partnership is hosting an introductory webinar on 26th of March, 2025 at 11:00AM CET to provide more details regarding this activity, including key dates and the process of evaluation. Please fill out this form to confirm your participation for the introductory webinar