IBM Files Prospectus for IoT-Powered Tuberculosis Tracking System to Support WHO's End TB Strategy

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 80% of South Africa’s population has latent tuberculosis infection, with 450,000 confirmed cases of active tuberculosis reported in 2013 alone. Last year, tuberculosis surpassed HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death among infectious diseases worldwide, becoming the deadliest infectious disease globally.

Globally, approximately 37.5% of tuberculosis (TB) patients remain undiagnosed, which means they do not receive appropriate treatment regimens. This represents a critical gap in either the diagnostic or treatment continuum. These undiagnosed patients continue to transmit the infection to others, thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle of disease spread within communities. Identifying these patients will help advance TB treatment strategies, which is why IBM supports the World Health Organization’s (WHO) End TB Strategy. IBM has provided the WHO with data-drivenIoTThe system aims to diagnose and predict tuberculosis, ultimately curbing its transmission.

The greatest challenge in tracking infectious diseases lies in the fact that the Disease Surveillance Information Reporting and Management System is overseen by different health institutions.Furthermore, survey results still require manual entry into the system, inevitably leading to issues such as omissions and input errors. Additionally, in South Africa, tuberculosis carries a significant social stigma, causing many patients to be reluctant to provide relevant information.

Researcher Toby Kurien is holding a small radio-based tuberculosis tracker.Developed by the IBM Research Africa Manufacturing Lab

At the Johannesburg laboratory, which was put into use not long ago, IBM researchers are trying to solve the problems encountered by data-driven methods and want to design a more effective strategy for the prevention and control of tuberculosis. By using inexpensive radio tags, the research team plans to deploy dozens of radio tags in specific areas of Johannesburg to anonymously track the transmission paths of tuberculosis.

Researchers Toby Kurien and Darlington Shingirirai, both working at the laboratory in the Braamfontein headquarters, are attempting to commercialize radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for use in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, with the ultimate goal of deploying them within communities.Kurien, a highly renowned engineer in the local manufacturing sector, also joined the development process of this tracker. Darlington, who holds a Ph.D. in bioinformatics, joined the IBM Research Africa laboratory eight months ago; his addition has been a valuable asset to medical and health research.

How to Track Tuberculosis More Effectively

Generally, radio-frequency (RF) trackers have limited application scenarios and can only operate within specific areas, such as shopping malls. However, due to the limited transmission and reception range of RF trackers, it is difficult for monitors to identify who is currently within the surveillance zone or who has just entered it. Therefore, in settings like shopping malls or other specialized venues, the effectiveness of RF trackers is significantly compromised.

However, the radio tags developed by Kurien and Shingirirai resolved the issue of transmission and reception range for trackers.

Kurien stated, “Our RFID tags can communicate with each other; therefore, when two RFID tags establish a connection, their interaction records are logged.” For example, a patient carrying a tag may enter the communication range of ten other patients who are also carrying tags, resulting in pairwise communications between the tags (with eight individuals on a bus and three at home). If every patient carries such an RFID tag, then the communication between each pair of tags will be recorded individually.

3D data visualization helps researchers and health organizations identify “super-spreaders,” enabling the design of targeted immunization strategies.

Data collected from radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags will be displayed on a three-dimensional dynamic monitoring screen, enabling scientists and researchers to analyze disease distribution patterns and even trace transmission pathways. Furthermore, given the high cost of vaccination, these data can assist healthcare professionals in prioritizing patients for immunization.

Kurien stated, “These tags are responsible for data collection, while we visualize the collected data to determine the distribution of the disease. When we identify a disease cluster, it indicates that a tagged patient has entered the communication range of the majority of individuals within that cluster. We refer to such individuals as ‘super-connectors’ or highly central nodes. These data suggest that if we prioritize super-connectors for vaccination and treatment, we can disrupt this dense network and prevent further disease transmission.”

Shingirirai stated, “By utilizing these labels, we can analyze the transmission patterns of diseases across different populations. This information plays a crucial role not only in preventing disease spread but also in elucidating transmission mechanisms and identifying susceptible populations in various settings. This enables us to develop more effective interventions, such as targeted immunization (isoniazid preventive therapy), enhanced diagnostic methods for tuberculosis patients, infection control, and other measures to prevent disease transmission.”

In addition to improper data extraction procedures, another factor contributing to the difficulty in tuberculosis contact tracing is that traditional tools such as GPS sensors are not only expensive but, more importantly, are often refused by patients due to reluctance to carry them.These trackers, used for medical data collection, are generally considered an invasion of personal privacy. A more sensitive issue is that wearing a tracker effectively announces to others that one is a tuberculosis patient.

Having identified these issues, the technical team designed the third-generation tracker, which is the smallest version to date. Kurien told us, “Each chip contains a miniature sensor, storage device, and battery. We have sized the chip to fit into a bracelet and paired it with a stylish casing, so that others cannot tell the wearer is a tuberculosis patient.” Shingirirai pointed out that to further reduce the tracker’s recognizability, it can also be fashioned as a headband (for female patients) or a wristband (for male patients).

Armed with these design principles, the technical team partnered with SiGNL, a local tech startup, to manufacture the trackers. They plan to conduct initial testing of this batch of trackers in a controlled environment, such as a hospital, and will only deploy them at scale once they meet the required standards. These trackers can also be used to monitor other types of infectious diseases.

“The more knowledge we acquire, the deeper our understanding of things becomes. As our understanding deepens, our actions naturally become more proactive. In this instance, we have made a significant impact in the fight against tuberculosis.”

To support the WHO’s End TB Strategy, IBM’s infectious disease tracker is not only an innovative invention but also a practical tool. It not only contributes valuable data to enhance human health and safety, but also eliminates the social drawbacks of existing trackers and addresses cost issues.

via IBM

By SebastianYuan | Source: Leiphone.com