Qure.ai has launched the first AI-enabled chest-X-ray screening tool cleared for children from birth to age 15, offering health systems a powerful new weapon against paediatric tuberculosis (TB).
Glimpse:
The cleared tool called qXR now holds CE Class IIb certification for children aged 0-3 years (in addition to prior clearance up to age 15), positioning it to help detect TB early in the most vulnerable age groups, even where sputum-based diagnostics are challenging.
Diagnosing TB in children has long been a formidable challenge: young patients often cannot produce sputum, symptoms can be subtle or non-specific, and radiologic signs vary widely. The Mumbai-based health-tech firm Qure.ai has taken a major leap forward by achieving regulatory clearance for its qXR chest-X-ray AI tool in the paediatric population. The CE Class IIb certification for children aged 0-3 years expands its reach to nearly all childhood age bands, complementing its existing capabilities for ages up to 15.
With this clearance, qXR can now be deployed in health programmes and hospital networks to screen children rapidly for signs of TB using X-rays, even when standard microbiological testing is not feasible. The algorithm supports prioritisation of high-risk cases, reduces diagnostic delays and potentially opens up screening to underserved populations. Qure.ai claims that the tool enables health systems to intervene earlier, allocate resources more efficiently and ultimately save lives.
Beyond the clearance, Qure.ai has also embedded a care-coordinator algorithm the Treatment Decision Algorithm A (TDA) aligned with the World Health Organization tuberculosis management guidelines for children and adolescents within its platform. This allows structured data entry and automated risk computation for kids who are bacteriology-negative or cannot give sputum.
In the larger context, paediatric TB remains a hidden crisis: in 2023 nearly 1.3 million children under 15 fell ill with TB (about 12% of all cases globally), with those under 5 particularly vulnerable and accounting for over 75% of TB-related deaths in that age group. The new AI tool could be a game-changer in high-burden countries that struggle with access, diagnostic infrastructure or radiologist shortage. For Qure.ai, this represents both a technological and public-health milestone.
“Achieving CE clearance for AI-enabled chest X-ray screening in children is a major step forward in the fight against paediatric TB. The youngest children have long been the hardest to reach and the most vulnerable.”
By
HB Team
