THE TIMES OF ISRAEL (January 21, 2019)
Israeli start-up MobileODT says it can detect cervical cancer more accurately and inexpensively than the standard colposcopy method used today, by creating a mobile digital colposcope made up of a smartphone equipped with a light source, a lens for magnification and an artificial intelligence algorithm.
A colposcopy is a procedure that uses a colposcope that provides doctors with an illuminated and magnified view of a woman’s cervix and the tissues of the vagina and vulva, to screen for cervical cancer.
In 2018, 570,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide, making it the fourth most frequent cancer in females, according to the World Health Organization. A research by the National Cancer Institute also showed that 80 percent of the cases and 90% of the 280,000 deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, where the number of qualified colposcopists — the specialists who deal with the screenings of this anatomical area — is lower and healthcare operators have fewer resources.
