The central government has officially launched X-Ray Setu, a new service on WhatsApp, which will be driven by artificial intelligence, and use X-Ray reports, to detect COVID 19 in case RT-PCR or testing and CT scan facilities are not readily available where they live. This feature will be a useful addition in the arsenal of apps and portals that are helping people get the latest updates about the COVID and book slots from vaccinations or testing.
X-Ray Setu is being developed by Artpark, a not-for-profit organization, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and startup Niramai.
With X-Ray Setu, doctors will be able to upload chest X-Ray scans of suspected patients and check for COVID 19. Usually, this is done by CT scans or RT-PCR testing, but those technologies are still not available in a large part of rural India, and thus, X-Ray Setu can prove beneficial in the country’s fight against coronavirus. What’s best is that X-Ray Setu WhatsApp bot can automatically process the scan and generate a report, all within a span of 10 to 15 minutes, flat.
The platform will, for now, be free of cost, and has been designed for people from rural areas and small towns. Artpark is also looking to take some 10,000 doctors on board, so as to carry its plan forward to the masses.
The technology was reportedly launched last week, and so far, 500 doctors have joined hands with with service. Umakant Soni, CEO at Artpark, has said, “We are planning to create a strong network of 10,000 doctors in the next 15 days who are trained in leveraging XraySetu, so that when the third COVID wave comes, we are ready with solutions that can reach doctors in rural areas.”
Soni further elaborated that there are as many as 5,335 community health centers (CHCs) in rural India with a working X-ray machine and an informed technician, which are fit for carrying out X-ray scans in collaboration with X-Ray Setu (as of March 31, 2019). He added, “We are making our best effort to reach all places where X-ray machines are installed. We will not charge any fee for the next 6-8 months. Even on a paid basis, it will be less than Rs 100 per test.”
The development comes after Artpark received a fund worth ₹230 crore from the Department of Science and Technology, GoI, under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems. It is also backed by the Karnataka government, and endorsed by the IISc, for developing AI and robotics-based technologies for creating innovations.
Geeta Manjunath, CEO and CTO at Niramai, has also hailed the move, saying that the platform has been developed with the aim of making rapid and affordable screening easily available for COVID testing, especially in rural areas.
She added, “We believe X-Ray Setu can play an important role to address the delays and false negatives in the RT PCR test. CT Scan leads to heavy exposure to radiation compared to an X-Ray. X-Ray Setu can be a supplement to RT PCR and CT Scan.”
