[Breast Cancer Awareness Month] These healthtech startups are using AI and ML for early detection
Breast cancer accounts for 14 percent of all cancers detected in women in India. One in 28 women is likely to develop it in her lifetime. HerStory looks at three Indian healthtech startups helping in early detection.
Every year, around the world, October is observed as Breast Cancer Awareness month to promote awareness and the need for early detection, treatment and palliative care.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer affecting women worldwide. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge to determine the causes of this cancer, which is why awareness and early detection are crucial.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), more than 1.5 lakh new cases and 70,000 deaths occur due to breast cancer.
Information from the National Cancer Registry Programme highlights that one in 28 women is likely to develop breast cancer in her lifetime. The figure for urban women is grimmer with one in 22 women likely to develop breast cancer compared to rural women where one in 60 women is likely to develop the disease.
There are various symptoms to detect breast cancer. It can include a painless lump in the breast, a sudden change in shape and size of the breast, bloody discharge from the nipple, and nipple retraction. A self-breast examination is encouraged among women, especially over the age of 20 to detect any anomalies and report them to a certified medical professional.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), so far the best method for detection of breast cancer is mammography which includes taking an X-ray of the breast tissue and points out abnormal structures within the breast. However, mammography screening is very costly and is only feasible in countries with good health infrastructure.
To help in early detection and treatment, healthtech startups have invented new methods that can provide alternative solutions to expensive mammography. These companies are enabling machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for cancer detection.
Here is a look at three such Indian startups that are helping the cause.
Niramai
Started by Geeta Manjunath and Nidhi Mathur, this Bengaluru-based startup uses AI to detect breast cancer in the early stages, using non-invasive, radiation-free, and painless methods. Niramai aims to eradicate breast cancer deaths by enabling detection that can help provide early treatment and palliative care to breast cancer patients.
Niramai’s product Thermalytix is now installed in over 30 hospitals and diagnostic centres across 10 Indian cities. The test also cost one-third of what a mammography would cost (approximately Rs 1,500) and is not pain-inducing or uncomfortable.
Started in 2016, after many clinical trials and successful validation, Niramai owns nine US patents and one Canadian patent.
UE LifeSciences
UE LifeSciences’ first product NoTouch BreastScan was first introduced outside India, where it was highly adopted. The Mumbai-based startup then introduced iBreastExam - a non-invasive, portable, painless, and radiation-free device for screening in different settings in India.
The device has a tactile sensor that surveys changes in tissue elasticity between healthy tissue and a stiff lump. Micro-sensors provide simultaneous feedback to the software and can detect anomalies that are as small as three millimetres.
UE LifeSciences has partnered with the state governments of Maharashtra and Rajasthan to screen 250,000 women and the device is also used in leading hospitals in the country. The device has clearance from the US FDA and CE mark, and is used in Mexico, Botswana, Myanmar, and Oman.
OncoStem
This Bengaluru-based breast cancer screening startup is using early detection to limit mortality rates. The startup is personalising cancer treatment using specific needs of the patient and nature of the tumour. Founded by a cell biology expert, Dr Manjiri Bakre, the OncoStem systems are capable of detecting tissue abnormality and identifying tumours that can develop into cancer.
The proprietary lab testing system also digitises historical medical records of patients, feeds into an AI-algorithm, which then analyses the reports to create actionable insights for doctors to provide further care.
The CanAssist Breast diagnosis helps patients and doctors to definitively decide whether to opt for chemotherapy or forego chemotherapy. It identifies ‘low-risk’ patients who will have minimal benefit of adding chemotherapy to their treatment and ‘high-risk’ patients who will benefit the most by adding it.
The startup received $6 million in funding from venture capital firm Sequoia India in 2017.
(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)