Tunisia: A Tunisian initiative to identify potential Covid-19 carriers

Posted On 17 April 2020

Number of times this article was read : 139

Tunis, April 17, 2020 – Tunisian engineers have created a web-based platform that scans lung X-rays and evaluates whether patients are likely to be suffering from the novel coronavirus. 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. Thousands of X-rays of the lungs of both healthy people and COVID-19
patients have been fed into the platform, allowing artificial intelligence to learn to recognise the marks of the virus on the lungs.

Improvements still need to be made for patients presenting with few symptoms, but the technology “allows the classification of a large number of images in a very short time, at low cost,” Mustapha Hamdi, an academic and one of the platform’s developers, told AFP on Friday. “The more images we upload to the platform, the more exact and reliable it becomes.”

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. “The initial idea was to allow the remote interior regions (of Tunisia) to do mass analysis”, Hamdi said.  Uploading an X-ray image to the platform and running the test  generates a recognition score, he explained — requiring just an X-ray image and an internet connection.

X-ray procedures are inexpensive and common in Tunisia’s public hospitals. Fawzi Haddad, a doctor in Tunisia’s main hospital for coronavirus patients, called the platform “a very good idea”. But, he noted, “it’s still in the experimental stage.”
Tunisia’s health ministry has officially declared more than 800 novel coronavirus cases, including 37 deaths, since early March.

AFP
Other Articles in this Week's IssueAlgeria: Prisoners to make face masks >>
The North Africa Journal's WhatsApp Group
.

Most Recent Stories from the Region

Algeria: Diphtheria and Malaria outbreak in southern border regions claims at least 40 lives

Algeria: Diphtheria and Malaria outbreak in southern border regions claims at least 40 lives

Algeria’s southern provinces are experiencing an outbreak of malaria and diphtheria, with the authorities working to reassure that public that “the situation is stable.” The most affected region appears to be Timiaouine, in the Bordj Badji Mokhtar province. The Algerian Health Security Agency says  the two diseases have already claimed the lives of 40 people. Local sources say the malaria outbreak is due to marshes formed after heavy rains hit the region in September.

Written by The North Africa Journal

The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This