Can dogs sniff cancer? AI joins the hunt in India

In India's tech hub of Bengaluru, a rescue dog named Chloe is undergoing training to detect human cancer through her keen sense of smell, aided by artificial intelligence. Dognosis, a Bengaluru-based startup, is spearheading this innovative approach. Chloe, a Labrador mix, is one of 15 dogs being taught to identify the distinctive odors associated with various types of cancer.

These dogs are equipped with 3D-printed helmets and harnesses packed with sensors to collect data on their brain activity, respiration, and body language during scent detection.

The startup's technology analyzes the dogs' reactions to different scent samples, evaluating thousands of sniffs per hour to assess the accuracy of their diagnoses. Dognosis aims to launch its screening service commercially next year, setting itself apart as the third company in the field, following firms from Germany and Israel. Early detection of cancer is crucial for improving survival rates, but many patients in India are diagnosed only after the disease has advanced.

The startup is collaborating with government medical institutions for its research, backed by venture-capital firms including Accel India. Chloe is part of a team of 15 dogs being trained by Dognosis, donning custom-made data-gathering helmets. With dogs having around 300 million scent receptors compared to humans' five million, their sniffing abilities hold promise for non-invasive cancer detection.

A recent study conducted by Dognosis involving over 1,500 participants across six hospitals in Karnataka state achieved an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent across seven major types of cancer. While cancer specialists in Bengaluru express cautious optimism about the study's potential, they emphasize the need for larger-scale studies before drawing definitive conclusions.

Dognosis aims to enhance proactive and preventative medicine while fostering human-canine communication, offering a unique approach to cancer screening that balances the work-life balance of the dogs involved.