Aarthi Scans and Ashoka University’s Koita Centre for Digital Health Sign MoU for Research Collaboration in AI in Medical Imaging
Chennai : Aarthi Scans & Labs, India’s largest integrated diagnostics provider, and the Koita Centre for Digital Health (KCDH) at Ashoka University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a research collaboration on artificial intelligence in medical imaging.
Most AI tools used in radiology today are built on data from Western populations and are rarely tested on Indian patients, scanners and clinical workflows. The collaboration aims to close this gap by developing and validating AI models on Indian data, in Indian clinical settings.
Together, the two institutions will build a secure data pipeline using de-identified imaging data, in line with ethics approvals and Indian data protection regulations. This data will be used to rigorously benchmark and validate radiology AI models for accuracy and fairness across the diversity of Indian patients and equipment.
The first project will focus on chest X-rays, the most commonly performed imaging test in the country. The teams will develop and validate an open-source chest X-ray AI model trained on Indian data, built in India, for India. The model will be released openly so that hospitals, researchers and startups across the country can use, test and build on it.
Insights from the work will support the development of AI that can assist radiologists in high-volume settings and improve diagnostic quality. The partnership will also generate peer-reviewed research and contribute to standards for responsible AI in Indian healthcare.
Dr Arunkumar Govindarajan, Radiologist and Executive Director, Aarthi Scans & Labs, said, “Trust in healthcare AI has to be earned through evidence. This partnership brings together rigorous academic research and real-world diagnostic expertise, with privacy and ethics built in from the start. Through peer-reviewed research, we hope to contribute to standards that help the country adopt AI in healthcare responsibly. We are starting with chest X-rays and making the model open-source, because AI for Indian patients should be built in India and be available to all of India.”
Dr Suvrankar Datta, Physician Scientist and Faculty, Ashoka University, said, “AI in radiology is only as good as the data it learns from. When tools built elsewhere are used on Indian patients, scanners and workflows without proper testing, we cannot be sure they perform as well as they should. By working with Aarthi Scans, we can test these models against real Indian clinical data and ask the questions that matter, including their accuracy and ethical use.”
With this collaboration, Aarthi Scans and the Koita Centre for Digital Health aim to build open, secure and accurate AI in medical imaging, from India, for India.
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