The Center for Health Solutions (CHS) Kenya is implementing the TIBU LIMS Secure-Sync project, which is strengthening Kenya’s diagnostics connectivity system. By enhancing the technological infrastructure that connects diagnostics such as digital chest X-rays, laboratories and health facilities, accurate diagnostic results are available more quickly, saving lives through timely medical interventions. Additionally, the national TB program is able to remotely confirm instruments are functioning optimally, improving access to testing. The value of the grant is $375,000 with $150,000 disbursed so far, and the implementation period is 1 May 2025 – 31 January 2026.
Key Project updates
To begin with, an inception meeting with the National TB Program and USAID was conducted. This was followed by a comprehensive multistakeholder scoping workshop to develop both the Business Requirements Document and Scope of Work documents to guide software development. A technology vendor has been contracted and development work initiated. Working in direct collaboration and technical guidance of the National TB Program technical team, the vendor has already delivered functional connectivity improvements to TIBULIMS with the following accomplishments.
Life-Saving Accomplishments to Date
Since June we’ve achieved the following technical and patient-facing milestones, which directly translate into lives saved:
- Automated Life-Critical Alert Systems: Our digital lab result integration and alerting engine ensures that clinicians receive immediate SMS/email notifications upon a positive TB or drug-resistant TB (DRTB) test result. This eliminates manual bottlenecks and allows treatment initiation on the same day—often within hours—reducing mortality and household transmission.
- Treatment Pathway Acceleration: Previously, patients with positive Xpert or culture results waited 5–7 days (or longer) for treatment initiation. Through secure syncing between TIBU LIMS and PMS, patients now begin treatment on the same day of diagnosis. For DRTB, integration with the Drug Resistance Survey Application Programming Interface (API) reduced the delay from 21+ days to 3–5 days, preventing ineffective treatment and resistance amplification.
- Diagnostic Equipment Life Support Systems: We have predictive maintenance algorithms integrated into TIBU LIMS to proactively monitor diagnostic devices including GeneXpert, Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT). These prevent machine downtime that typically deny rapid TB testing to thousands. Previously, a single machine breakdown or downtime could delay diagnosis for hundreds of patients for weeks. Our intervention prevents this before they occur, ensuring continuity of care.
- Immediate Patient Impact at Scale: Currently implemented across 5,400 facilities connected via 250 hubs, the TIBU LIMS Secure Sync ensures facility-to-lab data transfer and feedback occurs in real time, reducing unnecessary visits, courier delays, and prolonged infectious periods.
Quantified Life-Saving Impact – Real People, Real Lives (*Source NTP Kenya)
Metric |
Life-Saving Outcome |
| 24,624 | Patients received earlier treatment due to faster diagnostic workflows |
| 260 | MDR-TB patients identified and started treatment within 24 hours of testing |
How Connectivity Prevents Mortality
Connectivity Feature |
Life-Saving Outcome |
| Same-day result transmission | Prevents patients from deteriorating clinically |
| Instant drug-resistance alerts | Avoids ineffective treatment regimens |
| Real-time outbreak detection | Enables swift contact tracing to mitigate disease transmission |
| Machine uptime assurance | Guarantees diagnostic availability, avoiding missed diagnoses |
Immediate Next Steps (Aug–Sep): Scaling Life-Saving Impact
- Deploy automated alerts to an additional 150 high-burden sites, enabling 7,400 more patients to access same-day treatment.
- Roll out real-time critical result dashboards that guide clinician response within minutes.
- Expand remote facility integration, eliminating diagnostic isolation that leads to loss to follow-up or pre-treatment mortality.