Advanced TB Diagnostics Workshop: Strengthening TB Care across India and SEAR -2025
ICMR–National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR-NIRT), Chennai, in collaboration with McGill University, Canada, successfully conducted a five-day Advanced TB Diagnostics capacity-building workshop from 15 to 19 December 2025. The workshop brought together participants from National TB Programmes, public sector institutions, medical colleges, laboratories, industry partners and TB programmes from India and other countries of the South-East Asian Region to enhance understanding of contemporary TB diagnostic research and implementation.
The workshop addressed the full spectrum of TB diagnostics, spanning the pipeline of innovations, target product profiles, and discovery-to-implementation and policy pathways. Scientific sessions covered advances in molecular diagnostics and drug-susceptibility testing, non-sputum and near point-of-care tests, screening strategies, childhood TB, TB infection, extra-pulmonary TB, sequencing, artificial intelligence, digital radiology and computer-aided detection, alongside operational topics such as diagnostic algorithms, laboratory network optimisation, quality assurance, active case finding and cost-effectiveness in programmatic settings.
Expert-led lectures, interactive panel discussions, technology pitch sessions and site visits to ICMR-NIRT laboratories and the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine facilitated cross-learning and dialogue among researchers, policymakers, implementers and industry partners. The workshop strengthened collaboration among key stakeholders and supported the translation of diagnostic innovations into evidence-informed policies and practices for improved TB care and control in India and the South-East Asian Region.
