Standard cancer screening solutions like pap-smear, VIA and mammography have helped save millions of lives around the world, over the years. However, in recent years many new screening techniques, which are described below, have been developed in India and these are qualitatively benefitting the cancer screening ecosystem.
These new screening techniques, many of which involve artificial intelligence, have better sensitivity and lower false-positive rates. This will reduce the number of false-positive patients, who would have had to undergo unnecessary invasive tests, such as endoscopies and biopsies.
Novel cancer screening solutions have the potential to transform India’s screening landscape. These solutions being cost-effective are ideally suited to screen larger populations, in cities, towns and villages of urban, semi-urban and rural India.
Right now, there are only effective screening recommendations for 6 cancers: breast, cervix, colon, rectum, lung and prostate. Through newer technologies, in future, it may be possible to develop standard screening tests for cancers of pancreas, small bowel and stomach, for which currently there are no screening options. Once that happens, campaigns such as ours would enter a new phase!
This product is for early screening and diagnosis of Cervical Cancer using AI tools. Cervisense comprises a small camera mounted on a speculum that takes pictures of a patient’s cervix during an examination.
These medical-grade images are fed through a program run on a tablet. The image processing algorithm outputs a score that gives the healthcare worker a preliminary diagnosis.
This is an optical imaging device for the early detection of (pre-) cancerous lesions of the oral cavity. Tumour tissues give different optical signals as compared to normal tissues.
The device uses an optical system with custom-built software and algorithms for tissue analysis. This enables the physician to distinguish between healthy and potentially malignant sites of the oral cavity.
A hand-held non-invasive device for screening of cervical cancer. It has a small camera mounted on a speculum which is inserted to examine the cervix and assess abnormal changes in cells that line the cervix.
The processed images are pseudo colour mapped to locate the most malignant site on the cervix. Even in Pap smear tests, the device can guide the segment of the cervix to focus upon.
This unit has various sensors and controllers which measure blood flow variations in different regions of oral cavity. Early stages of oral cancer involves an increase in blood flow whereas a full-grown cancer reveals a decrease in blood flow similar to pre-cancer or normal cases.
The measured data is fed to a computer simulation engine to classify normal, pre-cancer and cancer cases in oral cavity.
Optical properties of cancerous oral cavity tissues are different as compared to normal tissues. The unit has a pencil sized stainless steel fibre optic probe from which light is shone on suspected tissue of oral cavity.
The light coming out of the tissue is captured and fed to the tablet computer where it is analyzed by a smart algorithm to instantly determine whether the tissue is cancerous or not.
This is a handheld device which detects small lumps under the skin in 5 to 10 minutes. It has hundreds of tiny, vibrating, ceramic plates are on the underside of the scanner.
As the device is gently pressed down and moved on the breast, these plates measure the elasticity of the tissue. A lump is indicated by less elastic or stiffer areas. A ‘map’ of the breast tissue is then produced by a computer.
This is a portable breast cancer screening tool based on Thermography. The imaging method is radiation free, non-touch, not painful and works for women of all ages.
The Niramai thermal device is placed 3 feet in front of the patient and it captures 5 thermal images of the breasts. Machine-learning algorithms automatically analyse these images and an analysis report is generated.
The Smart Scope is a non-invasive pencil device to detect cervical abnormalities in less than 10 minutes. Acetic Acid is applied in the cervix and the device is used to capture images.
The images are assessed by an AI-enabled software. The test result is color-coded and supplemented by a visual report, which is very easy to interpret.
This is an AI-backed system that automates the analysis of the PAP smear slides. A woman can visit the local health centre where CervAstra is deployed. There, a regular PAP smear sample will be prepared.
This sample is then stained through an automated staining device and passed through a slide scanner that gives out an image which is analysed by an algorithm for classification of the sample into Normal or Cancerous.
Their AI100 is a digital microscope. A blood smear is put in this machine, which takes high resolution, high magnification digital images of the blood slide that are then uploaded to the cloud.
AI-powered software analyses these images and pre-classifies cells into types and
sub-types, delivering results in minutes. Health issues that can be detected include blood cancer, such as leukemia, anemia, infections, inflammations etc.
LifeCell, a diagnostic services company, has launched India’s first at-home self-test kit to screen for HPV, a virus which is a major cause for Cervical Cancer. Order the kit online and as per instructions therein, obtain a vaginal swab in the comfort of your home.
Send the secure sample by courier to their lab and receive the results online within 2 days thereafter. If needed, you can have a video consultation with their medical experts to discuss the results.
This is an AI-powered product to detect early-stage breast cancer. MammoAssist examines a mammogram and processes the imaging data to identify radiologic features of early-stage breast cancer.
It then further classifies it for BIRADS Scoring with a full-fledged structured template that is made available to a radiologist who corroborates the mammography findings and issues the official report.
This test can provide early information about tumor presence, relapse after therapy and response to therapy. Involves test runs capable of detecting even 1 mutated molecule of DNA among 1000 non-mutated molecules.
The tests can be used to identify lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and bladder cancer. However the detection level is only 35% at early stage cancer, going up to 70-90% of at an advanced stage of cancer.
Vara of Germany has rolled out breast screening centres in Mumbai at Suburban Diagnostics and NM Medical. Vara's technology combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) with digital mammography to detect
breast cancer at its earliest stages.
By using machine learning algorithms to analyse images and identify earliest signs of potential abnormalities, Vara's technology improves the accuracy
of breast cancer screening, while reducing biopsies.
This test is applicable for patients with early-stage (Stage I or II), invasive breast cancer. CanAssist Breast determines the patient’s risk of breast cancer recurrence over five years, classifying patients as ‘low-risk’ or ‘high-risk’ for cancer recurrence.
So, after surgery, the 'low-risk' patients can possibly avoid chemotherapy which takes a toll on both physical and mental health of patients undergoing treatment
This service enables cancer patients to obtain second opinion on diagnosis. The patient needs to register on their website and upload the entire set of medical reports such as radiology reports, biopsy or pathology reports, lab reports, post-treatment notes etc.
The submitted information will be studied and reviewed by a multi-disciplinary tumour board of oncologists from Tata Memorial Hospital. The patient can access the expert report online.
CTCs are cancer cells which are detached from primary or secondary tumours of patients with advanced cancer and found dispersed in the peripheral blood.
This test will provide important clues as to how an individual’s cancer is to be treated. By providing information on risk of recurrence and relapse, the test will help doctor to decide on adjuvant chemotherapy.
They have developed a novel blood test which can detect all cancers earlier than existing technologies. The test is said to give 6 months to 1 year advance warning of cancer occurrence, with a high degree of probability.
Basically the test detects changes at gene level. The genetic parameters involved have been identified and the blood test checks changes in these parameters.