Asides

“There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved,” are the words of Swami Vivekananda. And if we give thoughts to it, we understand that the progress in women’s health and their socioeconomic status plays a crucial role in deciding the future of the world. Although, the status of women in society has slowly yet surely seen momentous progress in the past decades, the medical care for them still suffers from barriers and gaps.

India holds third place with the highest number of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Breast and cervical cancers are the most common types of cancer affecting women. The obstacles in the availability of well-founded devices, a limited number of physicians & clinics for screening, prompt medical attention, and the lack of awareness are the leading causes of cancer mortality that needed due consideration.

Adarsh Natarajan, an aspiring entrepreneur, and technophile stood resolute about making healthcare accessible and affordable using deep technology. The growing concern over cervical cancer caught his attention which incited him to set up AiNDRA System, a startup that pioneers SAAS and cloud-based healthcare technologies and aims to make cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment swift, accessible and inexpensive for every woman.

AiNDRA is part of the India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre which is established to develop an ecosystem of open innovation for start-ups and the healthcare delivery stakeholders. The Centre is supporting AiNDRA towards clinical validation guidance at AIIMS Jodhpur and deployment of their product at the hospital along with mentoring for international expansion. Through the Centre, AiNdra has also become a part of A.Catalayst network – an interconnected and dynamic global network of more than 20 AstraZeneca health innovation hubs, made up of physical locations and virtual partnerships. The network embodies the commitment to Growth Through Innovation as ‘a catalyst’ to develop new solutions for patients. It aims to address healthcare challenges, increase access to healthcare and scale and showcase patient‑enabled innovation through partnerships within the health ecosystem.

Blessed with a robust and diverse team, the company has invented avant-garde medical technologies as listed below:

• AiNDRA IntelliStain: A comprehensive and automated Staining solution empowered with futuristic technologies like mechatronics and software. AiNDRA IntelliStain enables high quality and peerless staining of the biological specimens.
• AiNDRA VisionX: A best-in-class Whole Slide Scanner that provides notably sharp and clear images of a whole slide, in a fraction of time. This helps pathologists to capture images at the point of care and examine them remotely.
• AiNDRA Astra: This AI platform is built to empower computational pathology to expedite the diagnosis and treatment of patients. AiNDRA ASTRA’s AI models have been developed using data curated by experienced and senior pathologists and supports the detection of both normal and abnormal cervical cancer in patients.
• ClustrPath: It’s a Tele Pathology workflow system that allows for a remotely located Pathologist, to then use ASTRA’s callout and make the final inference

Figure 1Aindra IS & Aindra VX

All these 4 separate systems have been integrated together to create CervAstra, the AI-based Point-of-Care Cervical Cancer detection system.

These tech-driven products are designed to facilitate speedy, accurate, precise & timely diagnosis and treatment of Cervical Cancer. This promptness in delivering error-free attention and treatment not only saves lives but speeds up recovery rates too. AiNDRA’s AI algorithms are continuously learning from the feedback by Pathologists as they regularly report on cases through CervAstra.

Giving thoughts to the financial situation and regional variations of the patients, the startup has been selling its products at affordable rates, priced between INR 200 to 400. They settled on this strategy to achieve the objective of increasing the screening rates of cervical cancer in the country.

“We had a clear vision and that was to leverage the power of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Cloud Technologies, and Machine Learning to bring about the golden healthcare triangle that encourages the accessibility, quality, and affordability of care for one and all. Along with healthcare, we had put our thoughts and efforts into solving issues in pilot programs run by public and private organizations. We have created a myriad of medical solutions and devices to assist clinicians and remotely help patients, especially of the rural regions diagnose and treat minacious diseases like cervical cancer,” says Adarsh Natarajan, Founder, and CEO, AiNDRA Systems.

With breakthrough and noble ideas as such, success seems to be in the bag for AiNDRA System. Working on these products since 2016, the company has extended its services to hospitals across the nation and reached out to women far and near. It has successfully set up its shining footprints in the global space by securing European Union standard CE certification as a self-regulatory measure. To date, AiNDRA System has served more than 1000 patients. Throughout their journey, they have entered into partnerships with the reputed institutes like KIDWAI Memorial Institute of Oncology, Rajarajeshwaria Medical College and Hospital, Metropolis, IIT Madras & IIT Mandi, and IISc. They are fortunate to be backed by investments from BIRAC, Millennium Alliance, Govt of Karnataka, IUSSTF, Villgro and a few HNI Angels.

In terms of funding, AiNDRA System has raised about million dollars funding through a combination of both Non-dilutive grants and Equity funding.

“Our journey has been a land of learning. Challenges taught us many lessons which we have implemented and grown over the years. Today our idea and efforts are adopted widely and also recognized in the ecosystem,” he states.

In the fullness of time, AiNDRA System looks ahead to establish a cross-channeled strategy to avail the commercial opportunity and further strengthen its existence in the ecosystem. Furthermore, it remains sanguine about engendering diagnostic solutions to enable robust point-of-care and save women in India and across the globe from lethal disease like cervical cancer!

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