MalaysiaHealthcare and life sciences2025 – ongoingMalaysia Ministry of Health
AI-read chest X-ray screening at public health clinics
Malaysia's health ministry screened 14,350 people with AI-read chest X-rays at seven clinics and found abnormal results in 25.5%
Problem
Small nodules are easy to miss on a conventional chest X-ray.
Approach
The ministry installed AI software on chest X-ray systems at seven public health clinics in 2025, as part of its Lung Health Initiative 2025-2030. People flagged by the software were referred for low-dose CT, and results went into a national lung health registry. After the pilot the ministry extended the programme nationwide through a circular dated 21 August 2026.
Results
Takeaway
The reported one-off software installation cost was about RM10,000 per clinic. People with abnormal AI-read X-rays were referred for diagnostic CT scans; the cancer detection rate has not been made public.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Healthcare and life sciences
- Business function
- Production and quality
- Innovation type
- Process innovationProduct and service innovation
- AI technology
- Computer vision
- Adoption
- Government support program
- Goal
- Quality and risk
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
The Star reported the pilot results from the Health Ministry: 14,350 people screened at seven clinics, 25.5% with abnormal chest X-rays, and about a third of those with abnormal findings had nodules that were being assessed for lung cancer and tuberculosis. It also reports the nationwide extension ordered in an August circular and the national lung health registry.
New Straits Times covered the May 2025 launch in Putrajaya. It lists the seven pilot clinics, a one-off software cost of about RM10,000 per clinic, and the high-risk groups targeted, such as smokers and chemical industry workers. Flagged people get a low-dose CT scan, and a ministry official said AI can pick up small nodules that ordinary X-rays miss.
Full details are in the original sources.
