Chandigarh: Punjab’s ambitious project to use artificial intelligence (AI) in breast cancer screening has yielded encouraging results, achieving a significantly higher cancer detection rate (CDR) than conventional methods.
This breakthrough comes at a time when Punjab grapples with a steep rise in breast and cervical cancer cases. From 2014 to 2023, cancer-related deaths among women surged 26%, with 31,879 recorded in the last decade. The increase highlights the need for enhanced early detection, greater awareness, and expanded access to quality healthcare.
As part of a pilot project, Punjab govt deployed AI-based Thermalytix screening test across primary and community health centres and 15 district hospitals, marking the first large-scale field study of an AI-based screening tool in India. The results show AI’s potential to support early cancer detection.
Using two portable Thermalytix units, healthcare workers screened 12,227 women, aged 20 to 80 (average age 41). Health workers trainned in breast cancer awareness mobilised women for screening. High-risk, symptomatic women were prioritised, and high school graduates trained to perform Thermalytix screenings, expanding access to low-cost testing. Thermalytix generates an automated B score for each patient, ranging from 1 (low likelihood of malignancy) to 5 (high likelihood of malignancy). Those with B-scores of 4 or 5 (referred to as “RED”)were counselled and recommended for follow-up diagnostic imaging at tertiary care centres.
In total, 15% of the women in his study had at least one breast complaint, and 386 women (3.16%) received a ‘RED’ score. Of these women, 248 received follow-up imaging. Thermalytix also showed a robust cancer detection rate of 0.18%, identifying 22 cases among 12,227 women.