Patru Tulshiram Meshram is finally regaining his appetite after weeks of poor eating and unexplained breathing problems. The 60-year-old tribal farmer in India had not been given a satisfactory explanation for the loss of appetite. Doctors at a local hospital, after several rounds of tests, including ultrasound sonography, announced that he had fluid in his lungs but could not determine the cause.
It wasn’t until he reached Maa Danteshwari Hospital — nearly six hours from his home in Karwafa village, in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district — that he finally got an accurate diagnosis: tuberculosis. The disease explained his asthma-like symptoms and loss of appetite. The breakthrough came thanks to the region’s first artificial intelligence-powered diagnostic tool, developed by Mumbai-based health tech company Qure.ai, which bypassed the usual reliance on sputum tests.
“After a thorough checkup, my father was diagnosed with TB the same day, something that usually takes several days. The treatment started immediately, and he was discharged five days later,” said Meshram’s son, Sachin.
About the author
Cheena Kapoorcheenakapoor
Cheena Kapoor is a Delhi-based independent journalist and photographer focusing on health, environmental, and social issues. Her work has been published by The Guardian, The Telegraph, Reuters, BBC, and Al Jazeera, among many others. Her long-term project "Forgotten daughters" about abandoned women in Indian mental asylums has been widely published and exhibited across Europe. Follow Cheena on Twitter and Instagram.
