Exploring the future of Medical Imaging in Malawi

In June, members of the Diagnostic Imaging Steering Committee at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (MLW), in collaboration with Worldwide Radiology, hosted the very first workshop on “Digital Health and AI solutions for Medical Imaging in Malawi” at the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre.

Working closely with our Radiology colleagues from the Malawi Ministry of Health and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, we created a programme shedding light on every aspect of these solutions focussing on the Malawian health context and inviting a broad range of stakeholders to share their views and experience on:

• Opportunities and challenges of Teleradiology and AI software solutions

• AI enabled Chest X-ray diagnosis for Tuberculosis at the National TB programme 

• Implications for senior leadership and end users at the grassroots level

• Regulatory Framework development by Medical Council of Malawi

• Patient safety and experiences

• Impact on Higher education institutions and training curricula

• Research perspectives and priorities

  
  

Dr David Zolowere, Registrar/CEO Medical Council of Malawi, and Ms Eunice Nahache, Assistant Director, Health Technical Support Services, Ministry of Health | Photo credits: Wezi Ngaiyaye

Successful and safe implementation of digital health solutions in medical imaging needs a strong multi-disciplinary approach with input from patients, policy makers, regulators, IT and Digital health specialists, imaging specialists and educators. 

This workshop was planned to create an opportunity for all to learn more about Teleradiology and AI solutions in Radiology, to hear perspectives from across disciplines and to build networks for future collaboration.

Dr Marlen Chawani, Health systems and Policy Research Fellow at MLW, presenting preliminary results of the WWR volunteer-led Teleradiology pilot at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre | Photo credits: Wezi Ngaiyaye

 Highlights from these discussions:

• Functional IT and internet infrastructure were considered top priority for success

• Strong data protection and AI software regulation is essential and underway.

• IT / Digital Health staff capacity is as important as Imaging staff capacity.

• AI solutions need to be relevant to and validated for Malawian patients.

• AI solutions cannot stand alone without expert human oversight.

• Collaborative implementation and knowledge upskilling are urgently needed.

• Malawi has a huge opportunity to improve Radiology services. Let’s take it!

The feedback was excellent, with many wishing to make this an annual event and to extend it to a 2-day programme. Several participants have already gone on to connect and work together. 

Worldwide Radiology has been providing medical imaging technical assistance to the Diagnostic Imaging Steering Committee under the Clinical Research Support Unit of the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research programme since 2017.

Brian Ngwira, co-chair of the Diagnostic Imaging Steering Committee at MLW together with Liz Joekes, WWR Radiologist. | Photo credits: Wezi Ngaiyaye

For this workshop, the Worldwide Radiology team contributed to design and delivery of the programme, created a participant survey on AI and Digital Radiology solutions, provided mentorship for MMed Radiology presentations, shared our experience of piloting volunteer-led Teleradiology services in Malawi, and assisted in the selection of Radiography students sponsored by MLW to attend the workshop. We will be working with the whole Diagnostic Imaging Steering Committee team to write and disseminate the workshop report. 

We strengthened links with our existing partners and colleagues, met many new ones and look forward to continuing this exciting collaboration!