ABU DHABI: Healthtech innovator M42 has announced significant findings from one of the world’s largest clinical validations of artificial intelligence (AI) in tuberculosis screening. The study, published in npj Digital Medicine – Nature, highlights the game-changing accuracy and scalability of M42’s AI model, AIRIS-TB, for mass chest X-ray assessments.
Conducted with the Capital Health Screening Centre (CHSC), part of the M42 group, the study analysed over one million chest X-rays, making it a landmark real-world application of AI in healthcare. AIRIS-TB, designed to triage routine tuberculosis screenings, achieved a 98.5% AUROC score – a key indicator of its diagnostic power. The AI model also recorded a 0% false-negative rate across the full dataset, underlining its reliability and safety.
The model’s practical utility is immense. AIRIS-TB can automate up to 80% of routine chest X-ray analyses, reducing radiologist workload, minimising human error, and improving speed and cost-efficiency in high-throughput settings. Given the WHO’s 2023 estimate of 10.8 million TB cases and 1.25 million related deaths, the need for such scalable solutions is urgent.
Notably, AIRIS-TB showed consistent performance across diverse demographic groups, regardless of age, gender, income, or HIV status, demonstrating fairness and global applicability. The AI solution performed equally well across populations from six WHO regions, supporting its robustness in varied healthcare environments.
Dimitris Moulavasilis, Group CEO of M42, said this was a pivotal moment for AI’s role in global TB control. “We now have a scalable solution that expands radiologist capacity and helps save lives,” he said. Dr. Laila Abdel Wareth of CHSC added that AIRIS-TB not only matches but may surpass human accuracy, freeing radiologists to focus on high-risk cases.
The study was reviewed by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, ensuring ethical standards and transparency. It cements M42’s position as a global leader in AI-powered healthtech, with the UAE at the forefront of digital health innovation.
