Lacuna Fund is proud to support the team at NAAMII in creating this #health dataset. Providing early intervention and accurate diagnostics of preventable diseases is crucial - particularly in remote areas where health infrastructure can be lacking. Watch their video below to learn more! #OurVoiceinData #Nepal'sVoiceinData #fillingdatagaps #ML #AI
Each year, outbreaks of preventable diseases affect rural communities. Lack of scalable, low-cost testing systems and trained personnel to diagnose the exact cause of these diseases early on results in death of countless lives. In response to these challenges, NAAMII led an AI-assisted smartphone microscopy research project where a low-cost smartphone microscope developed by Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences (KIAS), offering a promising solution for detecting diarrhea parasites in remote and underprivileged areas. We are powering smartphone microscopes with AI to automatically detect the parasites, to develop parasite testing in stools, foods, and water anywhere with limited resources and expertise. This project aims to provide early intervention and accurate diagnostics in remote areas where traditional health infrastructure is lacking. Supported by the Lacuna Fund, with in the project we have created a comprehensive annotated dataset of microscopic images, including both traditional brightfield microscopy and smartphone-based images. The focus of this dataset is on identifying Giardia and Cryptosporidium cysts, two major causes of diarrheal disease and malnutrition in children, using samples from water, vegetables, and stool. Additionally, the team has developed a web-based platform for uploading and annotating these microscopic images, streamlining data collection and analysis. This dataset has the potential to be expanded to include a wider range of parasites, providing a scalable solution for addressing various health challenges in low-resource settings. The project is led by Dr. Bishesh Khanal from NAAMII (PI) and Dr. Basant Giri from KIAS (Co-I) with key team members: Dr. Shravan Mishra and team, Dr. Mandeep Pathak and team, Dr. Bhagawan Koirala and team, Bhanu Neupane, Udit Chandra Aryal, Safal Thapaliya, Susma Giri and Asmita Adhikari. Clinical partnerships include Nyaya Health Nepal, Provincial Public Health Laboratory, Kathmandu Institute of Child Health, and Damak Children’s Hospital. Further development of this approach could provide a low-cost testing system, which holds the promise of revolutionizing access to diagnostics in resource-constrained settings, empowering communities, and contributing to the eradication of preventable diseases and potentially saving countless lives around the world. Paper Publication coming soon. For a similar previous project with smaller dataset, that provides info about AI-assisted smartphone microscopy, read our paper: https://lnkd.in/dZECw2Qx #AIForHealth #ResearchEducateInnovate #AIInnovation #NAAMII #TransformingGlobalHealthWithAI