Niramai – a Bengaluru-based AI-powered breast cancer screening solution is the only start-up from India that has made it to the list this year.
Niramai – a Bengaluru-based AI-powered breast cancer screening solution is the only start-up from India that has made it to the list this year.
There are several types of breast cancer. The type of cell affected in the breast determines the type of breast cancer.
Depending on the extent of spread of cancer into surrounding tissues cancer can be categorized into two types
Common types of breast cancer
Sub types of invasive breast cancer
There are some special subtypes of invasive breast cancer which are less common in occurrence. They are often named based on their microscopic appearance arising from the alignment of cancer cells. They have better prognosis than the common types of invasive ductal breast carcinoma and respond well to the treatment. These include
Other rare types of breast cancer
Based on Hormone receptor status
All invasive and in situ cancers are tested for hormone receptors. Hormone receptor positive tumors contain many hormone receptors. Such tumors can be treated by hormone therapy. Majority of breast cancer cases are hormone receptor positive.
Triple negative breast cancer involves tumours where the cells are negative for progesterone, estrogen and HER2/neu receptors. These cancers do not respond to hormone therapy. They are aggressive high grade tumors common in younger women and often have a ductal origin.
Different types of breast cancers tend to have different outcomes requiring different treatments. Tests like Niramai which can detect cancer accurately in its early stages compared to other modalities would always be a big plus in improving treatment effectiveness.
References
The health care startup’s AI-based, radiation-free method is making breast cancer screening more accessible
In 2013, as head of the data analytics team at a multinational technology company
NIRAMAI hosted a Continuing Medical Education seminar as part of the launch of NIRAMAI Thermal Mammography at ISHA diagnostics on Wednesday, 21st March 2018.
The seminar that saw the participation of gynaecologists/healthcare professionals across North Bangalore with sessions on latest development in the field of women health delivered by experts.
Dr. Balakrishna Shetty, Chief of Radiology, ISHA Diagnostics and Vice Chancellor, Siddhartha University, officially announced the availability of NIRAMAI solution at Isha Diagnostics. Niramai solution was so far available at ISHA for its patients free of cost, and both organizations have been working together to prepare for this launch. NIRAMAI test is now available at ISHA as a part of their regular diagnostic test offerings and preventive health packages.
Dr. Shylaja, a Senior Radiologist at ISHA Diagnostics then gave an overview of the four key breast imaging methods used for breast cancer screening – namely mammography, sonomammography, MRI and thermography. She also shared her experience and observations of evaluating NIRAMAI test with her peer group. “I screened 20 women as part of NIRMAI’s Women’s Day Celebrations at ISHA to convince myself with the NIRAMAI technology. NIRAMAI Thermal Mammography results had a fairly good correlation with sonomammography. Only lesions which had high thermal index were picked up. The cysts that were not picked up were very benign. I wouldn’t have even bothered about them”, she mentioned. “So, it is really very useful.”
The CME also saw participation by Karnataka Cancer Society which has been a long-time partner of NIRAMAI. “Earlier, we
were only doing clinical breast (CBE) examination in our screening camps till NIRAMAI approached us with Thermal Mammography. Our association with them has been very good. Over the past 6 months, they have conducted over 25 camps and screened more than 750 women,” said Mr. Suresh, Vice President of Karnataka Cancer Society.
“The portability of NIRAMAI Thermal Mammography makes it very useful in rural areas, especially for women who cannot afford regular breast cancer screening. Hats off to the team for their unwavering dedication,” he added.
The seminar also included a talk by Dr. Girish on “Pre-eclampsia and FGR screening” that was very well-received by the participating doctors.
NIRAMAI’s CME seminar at ISHA received an overwhelmingly positive response. The team is looking forward to working with the participating doctors in enabling better healthcare access to Breast Cancer patients.