With drug-resistant strains of TB outpacing the effectiveness of available treatments, this disease is again on the rise, infecting more than 8 million people every year. As the current treatments are expensive (up to 40000$), TB is prevalent in resource-limited settings. The disease is also especially deadly to those with HIV.

Detailed description of the solution

TBDx is a fully automated sputum smear (mucus) microscopy diagnostic solution for the detection of TB. It adds image processing to the routine smear microscopy, has a step-by-step guide for setup and process initialization, utilizes touchscreen capabilities and simple to understand features, and can support up to a 200-slide autoloader system for higher production environments. These features, combined with a lower cost-per-slide (~2.50$ compared to 10$), a reduction in the manpower needed (fully automated system), its ability to be used in a mobile laboratory environment, and its speed (reduced time from 6 minutes per slide to 2) can lead to savings of 79$ per case detected, or 66.9% savings of the typical cost of diagnosis.

Designed by

• Designed by: Signature Mapping Medical Sciences, Inc
• Manufacturer (if different): Guardian
• Manufacturer location: Virginia, USA

When and where it was tested/implemented

The TBDx held clinical trials in South Africa, and the Aurum Institute for Health Research ordered three TBDx systems in 2011.

Funding Source

US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

References