Thermalytix: Privacy-Preserving AI for Breast Cancer Screening
India
Healthcare
Implementing Organisation
Niramai
India, Karnataka
Deployed in 22 countries
Implementing Point of Contact
Geetha Manjunath
Founder and CEO
Contributor of the Impact Story
UN Women
Year of implementation
2017
Problem statement
Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality among women in the Global South, largely due to late-stage detection driven by socio-cultural barriers. In conservative societies, hesitation around disrobing and physical contact involving male technicians limits access to mammography. Mammography is also capital-intensive and unsuitable for rural deployment. Earlier non-AI methods such as manual thermography suffered from subjective interpretation.
Submission Overview
Niramai Health Analytix is an ISO-certified organization founded in 2016 to develop Thermalytix. It holds 39 granted patents in thermal imaging and AI across multiple countries. It has US FDA clearance for SMILE-100 and CE marking. Listed on Government e-Marketplace for government procurement.
AI Technology Used
Thermal Imaging Analytics
Key Outcomes
Access & Reach
Inclusion & Equity
User Experience & Satisfaction
Thermalytix is a privacy-preserving, AI-powered breast cancer screening solution that uses thermal imaging and machine learning to detect malignancies without physical contact or disrobing - addressing cultural modesty barriers that deter women from mammography. Deployed across 22 countries and 29 Indian cities, it has screened over 100,000 women since 2017, achieving 91% sensitivity (higher than conventional mammography for dense breasts) and 82.39% specificity. It reduces screening costs by approximately 90% compared to mammography and delivers automated reports in under 15 minutes.
Impact Metrics
Women Screened for breast cancer using Thermalytix
Baseline Value
No women were screen before 2017
Post-Implementation
Over 100,000 women screened across 29 Indian cities and rural districts.
Diagnostic sensitivity of Thermalytix
Baseline Value
NA
Post-Implementation
Denoting high diagnostic accuracy, thermalytix acheived 91.02% sensitivity in diagnosing cancer
Cost reduction due to Thermalytix usage compared to standard mammography screening
Baseline Value
NA
Post-Implementation
By eliminating out-of-pocket travel expenses for women, Thermalytix has acheived approximately 90% cost reduction compared to standard mammography screenings
Report turnaround time for mammography results
Baseline Value
Patients typically waited several hours to multiple days to receive their mammography reports
Post-Implementation
With automated reporting in place, mammography reports are now generated and delivered in under 15 minutes
Implementation Context
29 Indian cities and rural districts including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab. Also eployed in 22 countries with plans to scale in Philippines and Kenya.
Over 100,000 women screened across 29 districts across India with primary beneficiaries being underserved women in rural and semi-urban
Key Partnerships
Apollo Diagnostics, State Health Departments under the National Health Mission, NGOs
Replicability & Adaptation
1. Prioritize government partnerships early to build trust 2. Adapt to local norms around cultural modesty and data protection 3. Use offline-first technical design for rural settings 4. Invest in local female workforce capacity 5. Address clinical scepticism through clinical validation studies
Supporting Materials
* The data presented is self-reported by the respective organisations. Readers should consult the original sources for further details.