PHOTO
Last week, at Arab Health in Dubai, Abdul Latif Jameel Health announced a new distribution agreement with San Francisco-based medical technology company in iSono Health for its ATUSA scanner in the Global South.
The agreement will make the world’s first AI-driven portable and automated 3D breast ultrasound scanner available in an initial 31 countries covering the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
ATUSA scanner allows whole breast ultrasound imaging at point of care without need for trained ultrasound operators, ISono Health cofounder Dr Maryam Ziaei said.
“Ideally, breast imaging could be used for screening, diagnostics, surgical planning, treatment, and monitoring, in women's clinics, radiology departments, or surgical departments, particularly in the Global South,” she said in an interview with Zawya Projects.
In a press statement issued at Arab Health, Ziaei said the system is also fast by delivering fully automated and hands-free scans in two minutes, 10-15 times faster than manual probing.
Excerpts from the interview:
Could you brief us on the prevalence of breast cancer in the UAE?
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, accounting for 2.3 million new cases annually which makes up 11.7 pertcent of total new cancer cases in 2020. The UAE follows the global trend, with breast cancer the most diagnosed cancer in both sexes with 21.4 percent according to the WHO and 38.8 percent in females of all ages in the year 2020. In addition, the total number of breast cancer-related deaths in 2020 reached 1,896. An increasing number of younger patients are being diagnosed with breast cancer in the UAE, which is likely to be due to the high number of the young ex-pat population which lowers the average age of the female population.
How does iSono Health’s ATUSA scanner represent an improvement over existing technologies and systems? What are the comparison parameters?
Existing technologies are highly dependent on a skilled operator, not reproducible, not portable, and have a high cost making them inaccessible to many care environments. In addition, existing diagnostic tools can often be painful and uncomfortable for patients.
With its compact and automated design, ATUSA is designed to improve reproducibility through automation and enable breast ultrasound to be performed anywhere without the need for a skilled operator. It also decouples image acquisition and interpretation so that remote diagnosis is possible. Additionally, the exam is performed with the patient lying down and without compression, making it a more comfortable experience than other technologies for the woman.
Who would be the main customers for this product?
Ideally, breast imaging could be used for screening, diagnostics, surgical planning, treatment, and monitoring, in women's clinics, radiology departments, or surgical departments, particularly in the Global South.
A portable and automated whole breast ultrasound augmented with machine learning would be the most practical technology to reduce breast cancer mortality globally, particularly in countries with limited resources. Breast cancer diagnosis with ultrasound has been proven effective in developed countries for women with dense breasts. The ATUSA system is designed to offer enhanced efficiency, consistent accuracy, and a comfortable patient experience, therefore making 3D breast ultrasound imaging accessible to patients and physicians at point of care, around the world.
What is the timeline for making this product available in key markets?
This partnership will see Abdul Latif Jameel Health become the exclusive distributor of iSono Health’s ATUSA scanner in the Global South, making it available to hundreds of millions of women in an initial 31 countries covering the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Access to personalised and efficient breast imaging is critical in every step of patient journey from screening to detection to treatment, surgery, and monitoring, which is why we are working alongside our partners Abdul Latif Jameel Health to ensure rapid and efficient distribution across the Global South.
(Reporting by Anoop Menon; Editing by Bhaskar Raj)
