Meet The Indian Doctor Who Is Making Early Breast Cancer Detection Possible With AI

Did you know, 96 per cent of breast cancer cases in India are detected in the third stage? Most women in India are aware of breast self-examinations done by hand to check for lumps in their breasts, a method that only detects third-stage cancer. The main and most common method of detecting cancer is mammography which works for women above the age of 45. When it comes to those below 45 or having dense breasts, this process may not be ideal. Losing two young cousins to breast cancer a decade ago led Dr Geetha Manjunath to research more about the condition and how to make early screening possible. This steered the way for the NIRAMAI, a Hyderabad-based, artificial intelligence health tech startup that offers a radiation-free, non-invasive, and non-touch breast cancer screening solution called Thermalytix.

As Dr Manjunath delved deep into research, she found out about thermography, a test that involves using an infrared camera to detect heat patterns and blood flow in the body. The main problem? Even though this test could detect abnormalities in the breasts across all age groups, it had accuracy issues. To counter this, the team at NIRAMAI came up with a new method where temperature variations on the chest are measured using a thermos tool. The device measures about four lakh points per person and analyses them to figure out if the person has an abnormality called cancer. Instead of looking at thermal images, the tool takes into consideration the temperature and then, the AI algorithms check the difference between the left and right sides around the area of malignancy to determine if further analysis is required.

Dr Manjunath recommends that every woman above the age of 20 should undergo this test every year. Early detection increases the chances of survival and the treatment cost is also significantly lower. Every year, 1.8 lakh Indian women are diagnosed with cancer. This advancement in technology can help 80 per cent of them survive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most women were unable to go to hospitals for cancer screenings. To solve this, NIRAMAI came up with a home screening option in 16 cities where women can book an appointment on the website. Within 30 minutes, a professional will arrive to conduct the test in the privacy of your home.