Moris Atwine lost a close relative to breast cancer while pursuing a bachelors degree of Computer Science at Makerere. As a student of computer science, he thought of how he could stop the spread of breast cancer within their family using science and technology, since one of the most ways breast cancer is spread is through family history.
Together with David Mwesigwa a fellow computer scientist and Alvin Kabwama an electrical engineering graduate, they came up with breastIT.
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Your products and services
breastIT is one of the flagship products from thinkIT Limited, a software development company focused on the development and research of eHealth applications.
breastIT carries out diagnosis and prevention of breast cancer using a mobile phone application designed for smartphones. It carries out timely diagnosis of breast cancer using the information relayed to it by the “Hyphen glove” which is the hardware connected to smartphone.
Diagnosis is one of the main features of the app and once a user selects this functionality, he or she is prompted to start. Once one chooses the start option, the hyphen glove is turned on. A user must be wearing the glove by time it is turned on, then one can gently place in front of the breast of the patient, hover around to get a clear picture of the inside.
The app also offers educational tips on prevention. The device can be used both by hospitals and cancer registries to improve time and accuracy of diagnosis and by individuals in their own homes.
Your success factors
breastIT is now in the validation process. This includes working on acquiring approvals from our three targeted test markets in Uganda: Gulu, Mukono and Arua. We chose these districts because they have a high number of breast cancer cases, according to the Uganda Cancer Institute’s 2015 breast cancer report. breastIT has been able to carry out surveys with the above communities to assess the viability and applicability of the solution. We have also been able to iterate the technology to develop a new prototype next to a market-ready device. With this device, we are working to improve accuracy beyond 90 percent, where we are at currently. We will be running more field tests that will help us get the required approvals to go to market.
Your factors differentiating and disruptive compared to the existing
breastIT offers a prompt, accurate diagnosis using an easy to use device, that doesn’t require any medical knowledge to operate and has no any side effects. The technology has the potential to revolutionize breast cancer diagnosis because it’s easy to use, comfortable and low-cost.
Your business model
Right now, our revenue streams will come from hardware sales, additional service fees on top of the free software like medical record integration, government grants, contracts to develop further medical solutions, partnerships with nonprofits with similar goals, and academic grants for clinical research trials.
A few words about your competitors
Mammography is a specific type of breast imaging that uses low dose x-rays to detect cancer and MRI uses magnetic resonance imaging that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves which all have side effects as opposed to breastIT
Your website
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