Bengaluru: The Karnataka government recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. to implement an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered lung cancer screening technology. It will be capable of detecting 29 different lung diseases in a single chest X-ray for patients.
Developed by ‘Qure.ai’, a health tech startup, the AI-powered chest X-ray system will be able to assist the government in identifying lung nodules, frequently indicative of lung cancer, in 19 district hospitals in Karnataka, officials stated. This development addresses a significant early detection hurdle.
The MoU was signed on behalf of the government by National Health Mission, Health & Family Welfare Services, in the presence of Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Rao believes if cancer is detected in its early stages, it can be treated with the intent of curing it. He said, “We are bringing this technology in all our district hospitals across Karnataka, and we strongly believe that this will emerge as the most beneficial way of detecting lung cancer early and bringing down the financial and emotional burden of healthcare on patients, especially who cannot afford even primary care.”
An official cited a study by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) which said cancer cases in Karnataka are estimated to increase by 90,000 by 2025. He said the cancer rate is on the rise in Karnataka, with an annual increase of approximately one percent for both men and women.
In Bengaluru, the most common type of cancer among men includes lung, stomach, esophagus, and prostate, while in women, the most frequent cancers are breast, cervix, ovary, and corpus uteri.
Dr Sanjeev Panchal, Managing Director and Country President, AstraZeneca India, expressing his gratefulness to the Karnataka government for this partnership and said, “This will help incidental detection of nodules earlier, thereby improving early cancer diagnosis to a large extent as we integrate AI-based chest X-ray and low dose CT at the ground level.”
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