AI-based software for detecting river blindness

Health-tech company Niramai Tuesday said it will develop an artificial intelligence-based software for curbing spread of river blindness, a parasitic disease affecting the skin and eyes.

Niramai will leverage its Thermalytix technology to detect the presence of live adult worms of Onchocerciasis, which causes river blindness and significant disability, the company said in a statement.

"We are excited to collaborate with Gates Foundation to extend the application of our innovative technique to areas other than breast cancer. "Successful completion of this research project will demonstrate a breakthrough result of Thermalytix being a new way of sensing many abnormalities in human body in a non-invasive, radiation-free and accurate way, even beyond cancer," Geetha Manjunath, CEO and CTO of Niramai, said.

Thermalytix - an automated diagnostic tool - combines thermal imaging with AI that is being used to detect early stage breast cancer in many hospitals, the statement said.

"This innovative non-invasive detection method is expected to help assess the efficacy of new drugs being developed to control the disease by killing the adult worms, potentially accelerating the elimination of river blindness, which has infected about 17 million people in Africa," the statement said.

This project has been made possible through support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it added. In February, Bengaluru-based Niramai announced raising USD 6 million in funding led by Dream Incubator, with participation from BEENEXT and other investors.