Analysis of Tuberculosis Detection Techniques Using Chest X-Rays: A Review

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a communicable disease spread by a bacterium named as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its first and foremost target is to attack the human respiratory system and to disturb its normal functioning by affecting most specific part of the respiratory system i.e. lungs. It becomes difficult to breathe properly with the affected lungs and if not timely treated, the severity of the disease can increase and it can lead to death. According to the recent reports, millions of lives are compromised due to tuberculosis every year especially in the less developed areas of the world. Due to less medical awareness and facilities in such areas, the timely diagnostic and treatment of tuberculosis are also less likely. Developed countries have better medical awareness and facilities thus the prevalence of the disease is controlled by timely diagnosis and treatment. To improve the figures in countries having the highest tuberculosis reported cases and less medical facilities timely diagnosis is the key. Chest x-rays are found to be the most economical and widely used technique to detect the presence of tuberculosis even in areas with very few medical facilities. CAD-based tuberculosis diagnostic system using chest x-rays can really help in improving the number of timely diagnosed and treated patients every year. An overview of CAD-based tuberculosis diagnostic systems is presented in this research article.