Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. It is curable and preventable. TB is spread from person to person through the air when people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected. When a person develops active TB disease, the symptoms (such as cough, fever, night sweats, or weight loss) may be mild for many months. This can lead to delays in seeking care, and results in transmission of the bacteria to others. People with active TB can infect 10–15 other people through close contact over the course of a year. Without proper treatment, 45% of HIV-negative people with TB on average and nearly all HIV-positive people with TB will die (source https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/tuberculosis-tb).

The Cloud DX "Vitaliti™" Tricorder, developed to win the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition, includes an ingenious software application that can detect a tuberculosis infection based simply on the sound of a person coughing. In 2019, Cloud DX and the Altman Clinical Translational Research Institute (CTRI) at the University of California San Diego will demonstrate and validate our Cough Analysis mobile app in Maputo Mozambique, with generous funding from Qualcomm Life and the Roddenberry Foundation.

Read more about our upcoming work in 2019 in this article in Thrive-Global: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-future-is-now-now-we-have-star-treks-medical-tricorder-on-a-sma...