The UK and India have come together and successfully created a new innovation in the battle to contain killer lung diseases such as COVID-19 and TB. Enabled by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, (C-CAMP), with support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), this C-CAMP portfolio technology allows a patient to cough into a mobile phone and through the power of AI receive an accurate medical assessment of their ailment. 

That allows doctors and patients to determine whether further tests might be needed and to monitor ongoing cases while saving time and money for everyone. With even the poorest households having access to a mobile phone, the innovation is ultra-scalable and potentially makes the biggest difference to the people with the least time and money, and poor access to healthcare services.   

The technology was showcased at the Govt Chest & TB Hospital, Andhra Medical College, Vishakhapatnam to the British Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Dr Andrew Fleming in the presence of Dr Niranjan Joshi, Associate Programme Lead, C-CAMP, Dr PV Sudhakar, Former Principal, AMC, Dr KVV Vijaya Kumar, The Superintendent, Chest & TB Hospital, and Manmohan Jain, CSO, Salcit Technologies.

C-CAMP portfolio start-up Salcit Technologies had first developed an AI-driven, patented platform Swaasa for general lung assessment using cough sounds. Under the consortium project supported by the FCDO, UK Govt, and led by C-CAMP, C-CAMP brought together technical, clinical & health systems expertise through Salcit Technologies, Andhra Medical College (AMC), and PATH to extend and develop this platform to triage for COVID-19 and TB.