GlobaldiagnostiX - The 1000th patient diagnosed

On November 8th, we commemorate World Radiology Day, honouring Wilhelm Roentgen’s 1895 discovery of X-rays, a breakthrough that revolutionized medicine. Yet, 129 years later, two-thirds of the world’s population still lack access to this vital technology. The consequences are staggering: preventable deaths from undiagnosed conditions and injuries persist across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Bridging the Gap

Medical imaging saves lives by enabling early diagnosis of conditions such as broken bones, infections, and even cancer. Yet in LMICs, x-ray imaging remains out of reach due to four major challenges:

• Financial Barriers
• Fragile Infrastructure
• Human Resource Shortages
• Harsh Environments

GlobalDiagnostiX tackles all these issues with a uniquely resilient, affordable, and accessible X-ray solution.

The GlobalDiagnostiX Solution

The result of years of collaboration across Swiss and African institutions, the GlobalDiagnostiX system is tailor-made for LMICs. Its key features include:

• Robust Design: Engineered to withstand extreme heat, humidity, and dust.
• Power Efficiency: Operates reliably despite fluctuations or outages in electricity.
• Simplicity: A user-friendly interface enables operation with minimal training.
• Digital and Maintenance-Free: Eliminates the need for film or chemicals, reducing operational costs and breakdowns.
• Teleradiology: Allows clinics to send images digitally to specialists, closing the gap in radiologist shortages.
• Affordability: A low total cost of ownership ensures accessibility for even the most resource-constrained settings.

The project’s impact goes beyond the technology itself—it demonstrates the power of innovation to drive health equity.

From Vision to Reality

What started in 2011 as a partnership between academic institutions in Switzerland and Cameroon has grown into a global movement. By 2018, the spin-off company Pristem SA was established to bring the project to market, followed by its subsidiary OpenDiagnostics South Africa.

Today, two imaging centres equipped with GlobalDiagnostiX technology are operational in the townships of Soweto and Alexandra in Johannesburg, South Africa. These centres celebrated diagnosing their 1,000th patient in Summer 2024, a testament to the system’s transformative potential.

But the journey doesn’t end here. To truly "complete the Roentgen story," the challenge is now to scale the project, creating hundreds of centres worldwide to meet the growing demand for affordable imaging.

A Global Collaboration

The success of GlobalDiagnostiX is rooted in a vast network of partners and collaborators. Swiss institutions like EPFL, several labs at the HES-SO, Geneva University, The EssentialMed Foundation, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) have played vital roles. Meanwhile, international collaborations with Cameroon’s University Hospital of Yaoundé as well as the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique de Yaoundé, and other institutions have anchored the project in its target regions.

This partnership underscores that solving global challenges requires shared effort. The project has attracted substantial investment, with Pristem SA securing CHF 14 million from Swiss and African investors—a record-breaking step toward commercializing the technology.

We want to express a special thanks EPFL labs and professors who truly made this a reality Prof. Mario Paolone DESL, Prof. Jean-Philippe Thiran LTS5, Prof. Jürg Schiffmann LAMD, Prof.Yusuf Leblebici LSM, and Prof. Andreas Pautz LRS.

Join the Movement

The GlobalDiagnostiX team invites partners, investors, and health advocates to join the mission. Together, we can make medical imaging universally accessible and rewrite the narrative for billions of patients worldwide.

With every new diagnostic centre and every patient served, we come closer to fulfilling Roentgen’s legacy: a world where no one is denied the benefits of medical imaging.

For more information or to get involved, visit EssentialTech Centre at EPFL, Pristem SA and OpenDiagnostics.