Researchers in Tunisia have developed a Web-based tool that scans x-rays and determines whether patients are likely to have COVID-19, according to a report in New Straits Times.
While it’s not the first initiative of its kind in the world, its creators say it is the first to be openly available. And though not a diagnostic tool, the technology provides a “90 percent” reliable indication of the probability of infection, they add.
Teachers and students at the Tunisian engineering and technology institute INSAT have been developing the platform – Covid-19 Exam Ct/XR images by AI – since mid-March, with the support of German development agency GIZ, the Italian Society of Medical Radiology and US tech giant IBM.
It is still in the test phase, under evaluation by Tunisia’s health ministry. But if approved, the technology would be particularly useful in areas of the country that lack major hospitals and specialist doctors.
Read more from New Straits Times.
Featured image: Chest x-ray of suspected coronavirus patient showing changes in the lung due to COVID-19 (with chest tube).
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