NIRAMAI, an acronym for Non-Invasive Risk Assessment with Machine Intelligence, uses thermography and machine learning to detect early signs of breast cancer. Founders of Bangalore-based startup Niramai Health Analytix, Dr. Geetha Manjunath, a PhD in computer science and Nidhi Mathur an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, developed an AI-led diagnostic platform that uses patented thermal image processing and machine learning algorithms for reliable and accurate breast cancer screening.
This method of screening can detect tumors 5 years before mammography or a clinical exam can. The portable and screening tool, called SMILE, has been tested on data from 300 patients, and results indicate an accuracy comparable to current diagnostics available. The AI and ML algorithms for the analysis of thermal images have resulted in 2 granted U.S. patents and many more patent applications.
“Our method of breast cancer screening can detect tumors 5 times smaller than what clinical exams can detect, is painless, non-contact and free of any radiation, apart from being low-cost, and universally accessible. With our solution, women of all age groups can undergo frequent screening without any side-effects. We are addressing a huge breast cancer screening market with the equipment market alone expected to reach $4.14 billion by 2021,” says Niramai.
