Intro
The Introducing New Tools Project, also called iNTP, is supported by USAID and the Stop TB Partnership to roll out cutting-edge innovations in diagnostics, treatments, and digital health technologies to strengthen TB care in high-burden countries.
Since 2021, the project has supported the upscaling of ultra-portable digital X-rays (the Delft Light portable backpack X-ray) and CAD (Computer-Aided Detection for Tuberculosis, CAD4TB) software in 7 countries for TB screening among hard-to-reach populations.
The Delft Approach
Through the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility (GDF), Delft Imaging supports Bangladesh, DR Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, Uganda, and Vietnam with 55 Delft Light ultra-portable digital X-rays in backpacks and 63 CAD4TB perpetual licenses, as well as CAD4TBboxes for offline use. The project has a four-year horizon and features one year of initial and three years of extended warranty on all goods provided.
Our support includes installation, capacity building (180+ professionals trained), technical support, and maintenance to ensure smooth and effective TB screening in the field. Moreover, the project offers various refresher training sessions to facilitate continuous capacity building.
The ultra-portable digital X-ray with CAD has significantly improved to take high-quality TB care to hard-to-reach and vulnerable/underserved populations.
Making a difference
During the Union Conference on Lung Health of 2022, iNTP country partners shared their initial results using the Delft Light and CAD4TB:
Delft Light Backpack (DLB) portable digital X-ray for pre-diagnostic TB screening: results from a scale-up intervention in Nigeria conclude that Delft Light with CAD4TB helped improve access to TB screening among hard-to-reach and most at-risk populations. The study suggests that the intervention efficiently identified missing TB cases among these populations and recommended scaling up to more states in Nigeria.
Scaling up ultra-portable digital X-ray with computer-aided TB detection in Nigeria concludes that Delft Light with CAD4TB has significantly improved the ability of the TB program to take high-quality TB care to hard-to-reach and vulnerable/underserved populations.
Portable digital X-ray-driven community active case-finding for TB using a virtual radiologist-linkage platform in Nigeria concludes that Delft Light X-ray with CAD and digital virtual reporting platform in community ACF can optimise clinical TB diagnosis.
One-stop shop TB diagnostic package for active community case-finding: a pilot intervention during the 2022 World TB Day celebrations in Nigeria highlights the one-stop-shop approach combining Delft Light with CAD4TB and Truenat or TB LAMP for the same day TB diagnosis.
For more information, please visit The Introducing New Tools Project | Stop TB Partnership and the GDF Diagnostics, Medical Devices & Other Health Products Catalogue.
Implementing the iNTP project in Kenya was also covered in a newsletter of the Stop TB Partnership. Moreover, the Nigeria implementation within the iNTP project was covered in a similar newsletter.
