Can dogs sniff cancer? AI joins the hunt in India
A Bengaluru-based startup, Dognosis, is using AI to analyze canine brain activity and respiration to detect cancer through scent. The project aims to provide an affordable, non-invasive screening method for early cancer detection in India.
Why it matters
Innovative, low-cost screening technologies could significantly improve cancer survival rates in regions with limited medical infrastructure.
When rescue dog Chloe is not tumbling across the grass on a farm outside India's tech capital Bengaluru, she is learning to sniff human breath for cancer with a little help from AI.
Fitted with a 3D-printed helmet and harness packed with sensors, Chloe is part of experimental efforts to use dogs' extraordinary sense of smell to develop a non-invasive test for the disease.
A growing body of global research suggests dogs can be trained to detect cancer and other human illnesses, from Parkinson's to Covid-19.
The Bengaluru-based startup Dognosis is using AI to analyse dogs' brain activity, respiration and body language, turning their reaction to scent into data.
"In an hour, they can do thousands of sniffs," co-founder Akash Kulgod, 26, told AFP. "Each sniff can evaluate a sample."
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