Breast cancer caused 670,000 deaths all around the world in 2022. Breast cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer in a woman and early detection is a powerful key in improving survival rates as well as treatment outcomes. In an era of technical and scientific innovations, breast cancer screening has undergone a major revolution due to Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has changed the way mammograms are being analyzed and is all set to help doctors detect breast cancer early, resulting in early detection as well as increased survival rates.
Mammogram is the gold standard when it comes to breast cancer detection. However, due to many factors, a mammogram can set off a false alarm or it can fail to detect potential breast cancer signs. But AI, after analyzing many mammograms and equipped with trillions of datasets, can analyze a mammogram and accurately point out breast cancer cells. This precision can eliminate false negatives as well as missed negatives.
Detection alone isn’t the specialty of AI. It can also analyze and look at a patient’s physical history, age, and other risk factors. Thus it can provide the healthcare professional with more personalized treatment methods for low-risk and high-risk patients alike. Training AI to closely analyze MRIs and ultrasound results can assist radiologists in finding out abnormalities in these scans and it can also help with accurate and precise biopsies.
There are a few femtech companies that help people in the fight against breast cancer. A few of them are listed below:
- Densitas – Densitas is a Canadian femtech company that focuses on breast health solutions. Their flagship product, DensityAI, is a software platform designed to assist radiologists in assessing breast density, a significant risk factor for breast cancer.
- Mammogen – Mammogen is a UK-based femtech company that develops innovative breast cancer detection technologies. Their flagship product, Mammogen Detect, is a non-invasive, handheld device that uses microwave imaging technology and machine learning algorithms to detect breast abnormalities, including tumors, with high sensitivity and specificity.
- Pink Caravan – Pink Caravan is a UAE-based breast cancer awareness initiative launched by the Friends of Cancer Patients charity organization. While not a traditional femtech company, Pink Caravan plays a significant role in raising awareness about breast cancer.
- Volpara Health – Volpara Health, headquartered in New Zealand, develops AI-driven software for breast imaging and breast cancer risk assessment. Their solutions aim to improve the accuracy of breast cancer detection and help healthcare providers deliver personalized care to patients.
While AI holds the key to a scientifically sound future, these AI algorithms must be rigorously screened and verified. Even though AI holds tremendous potential to change our future, ensuring the robustness and reliability of AI algorithms, addressing issues related to data privacy and security, and integrating AI tools into clinical practice seamlessly are among the key challenges to using it to its optimum power.