Moscow, 4 December 2025 — Scientists at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) have developed an innovative method that dramatically improves the accuracy of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis using artificial intelligence. This scientific breakthrough from Russia could become a vital tool for India in combating one of the world’s most widespread and socially significant diseases.
Solving a Core Challenge in Medical AI
The MSU team’s solution tackles a fundamental obstacle facing developers of AI diagnostic systems globally: the severe shortage of large, diverse, and high-quality medical datasets needed to train neural networks effectively. This issue is especially acute in chest X-ray analysis, where image quality can vary widely depending on equipment and clinical settings.
Their new algorithm—Fast and Adaptive Bidimensional Empirical Mode Decomposition (FABEMD)—intelligently expands training datasets by generating realistic, diverse synthetic variations of existing X-ray images. Crucially, it preserves all diagnostically relevant pathological features while altering the broader structural characteristics of the images. This “data enrichment” makes AI models significantly more accurate, adaptable, and resilient when working with real-world, imperfect clinical data.
“We’ve demonstrated that FABEMD not only enhances classification accuracy but also makes AI models far more robust to variations in image quality—a critical factor in medical applications where datasets are often limited,” explained MSU Professor Andrey Krylov.
Why This Technology Matters for India
This isn’t just another scientific milestone—it’s a potentially transformative tool that could offer valuable support to India’s public health system. Given the significant global burden of tuberculosis, and India’s important role in consistent efforts to combat the disease, advancing access to rapid and accurate diagnosis could play a meaningful role in strengthening these efforts.
The scale of the challenge: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India accounts for a significant share of global TB cases. Early and precise detection is the essential first step in containing the disease.
Diagnostic limitations in the field: Many rural and under-resourced clinics lack both high-end imaging equipment and experienced radiologists. The MSU algorithm is specifically designed to perform reliably on low-quality X-rays—making it ideally suited for nationwide deployment in diverse Indian healthcare settings.
Speed, scalability, and impact: Deploying this high-accuracy, AI-powered screening tool could dramatically accelerate TB detection, reduce physician workloads, and enable faster treatment initiation—saving lives and interrupting transmission chains.
The method has already been successfully validated on major international datasets, confirming its robustness and global applicability.
Beyond TB: A Gateway to Strategic MedTech Collaboration
This Russian scientific success opens apparent and promising avenues for India–Russia cooperation in health technology and innovation:
- Direct adoption and localization: Indian pharmaceutical conglomerates, health-tech firms, and government health agencies could pioneer the integration of this algorithm into national TB screening programs, tailoring it to local epidemiological and technical conditions.
- Joint R&D initiatives: The technology isn’t limited to TB. As MSU researchers note, FABEMD can be applied to diagnose cancer, eye diseases, and other conditions. Establishing Indo-Russian AI labs focused on adapting and training models for region-specific health challenges is a logical next step.
- Investment in Russian deep tech: This project showcases Russia’s world-class expertise in AI and mathematical modeling. For Indian venture funds and corporate investors, it signals strong potential returns from backing Russian HealthTech startups and R&D centers.
- Talent development: The MSU interdisciplinary program “Brain, Cognitive Systems, Artificial Intelligence”—where this work originated—could serve as a training hub for Indian students and professionals at the intersection of medicine and AI.
We observe that Russia is demonstrating readiness to offer the world a lot more than just raw materials. Today, it’s high-value intellectual solutions to pressing humanitarian challenges. For India, partnering in the sensitive and vital domain of public health isn’t just about technology transfer—it’s a pathway to deeper trust and stronger strategic ties between our nations.
In this light, the MSU breakthrough is more than a scientific achievement. It’s a timely, actionable proposal for collaboration—one that aligns closely with India’s national health priorities and paves the way for a new era in Indo-Russian technological partnership.
