Interesting Facts about Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is currently the world's leading cause of adult death for a single infectious disease. The ability to proactively screen vulnerable segments of the population would be one of the main benefits of automation. More rapid distinction between multidrug resistant and non resistant strains by machine determination of bacilli densities and the time elapsed since treatment. Whether this is feasible is currently under investigation.
Tuberculosis is predominantly a public health problem in developing countries.
Though the volumes of slides might justify automation is some instances, the method is expected to be too expensive for use in low income countries. Our collaborators in Cape Town routinely screen about 100,000 slides per annum providing a good case for automation in volume terms with expected financial support for eventual machine implementation. The proposed machine would present the medical technologist with bacilli counts, confidences, recommended diagnosis and a sample of images, and an accurate diagnosis could be made in a minute or two of the technologist's time.