Hyderabad, /Yashoda Hospitals in Hitec City, just launched an AI-powered Lung Nodule Clinic. Their big aim? Find lung cancer and other serious lung problems early, so patients stand a real chance at better treatment. With this move, Yashoda jumps ahead as one of the first hospitals in India to plug AI straight into regular chest imaging for lung health.
The clinic’s right inside Yashoda Hospitals–Hitec City, in the thick of Hyderabad’s tech and business action. That spot matters—a lot of people working and living here breathe in more pollution, smoke, or just deal with city stress. To make this work, Yashoda teamed up with Qure.ai, a health AI startup, and pharma heavyweight AstraZeneca. It’s a blend of hospital experience, AI brains, and some serious industry backing.
Lung cancer is affecting India severely. Every year, almost 100,000 people die, mostly because cancer detection too late to cure on time. There’s still no national lung cancer screening program, so this clinic is trying to close that gap. It gives people a clear way to get checked and tracked for suspicious lung nodules before things spiral out of control.
Here’s the drill: every chest X-ray that fits the bill runs through the AI. The system scans for lung nodules—little spots that could spell trouble—and flags anything risky, firing off alerts to the doctors. So far, they’ve run over 17,000 chest X-rays through this setup. Out of those, they found around 960 nodules, called 136 “high-risk,” and moved 77 patients quickly to CT scans and specialists.
Surely, detecting lung cancer in early stage is the main focus, but the clinic isn’t stopping there. The AI not only detects lung cancer but also detects other issues or deceases, like tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, and lymphoma. When doctors need to check-up or a biopsy, they don’t mess around—they use advanced tools like radial endobronchial ultrasound, navigational bronchoscopy, and cone-beam CT–guided sampling to zero in on the diagnosis and map out treatment.
Once the AI notes the presence of a nodule, the clinic follows a tight “nodule pathway.” They keep record of everything, evaluate the risk, keep labels, and make sure patients should come back for regular checkups till they get cured completely. A nurse navigator calls patients, explains what’s happening, and guides them step by step, so no one gets lost or stuck waiting too long.
Doctors at Yashoda already see the difference. They’re catching early lung cancers and other diseases that would’ve slipped through the cracks. By weaving AI into their daily routine and setting clear workflows, Yashoda hopes to spot more cases early, cut down on late-stage surprises, and push lung care standards higher—not just in Hyderabad, but across India.