CerviScanner: AI-Assisted Cervical Cancer Screening to Bridge the Diagnostic Divide in Africa

Cervical cancer remains highly preventable, yet 94% of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where screening quality is constrained by infrastructure and workforce limitations. In Rwanda, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer, half of cases are detected at advanced stages, and only 17.6% of healthcare providers have received proper practical screening training. Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is widely used because it is low-cost and enables same-day treatment, but interpretation is subjective and highly dependent on provider experience, leading to inconsistent screening quality. AI-assisted VIA tools have demonstrated strong performance in controlled research environments, but few have transitioned into routine primary care. A critical gap exists between algorithm development and real-world deployment. The challenge is not only achieving high technical accuracy but ensuring integration into existing workflows, infrastructure, regulatory systems, and provider practices within resource-constrained primary healthcare settings.

MednTech is a nonprofit organization that co-designs AI-driven healthcare tools with African communities and frontline providers to expand access to preventive care in underserved settings. The organization focuses on translating AI research into deployable, context-appropriate solutions that integrate into national health systems and existing clinical workflows. MednTech emphasizes responsible AI implementation, including human oversight, regulatory compliance, data protection, and iterative improvement using local datasets. Its approach positions AI as decision-support that strengthens - rather than replaces - frontline healthcare workers, aiming to improve diagnostic consistency and health system capacity in low-resource environments.