India startup trains dogs to sniff out cancer with AI help

In Bengaluru, India, a startup called Dognosis is training dogs to detect cancer through scent. The dogs, fitted with 3D-printed helmets and harnesses, are equipped with sensors to analyze their brain activity, respiration, and body language. AI is then used to turn the dogs' reactions to scent into data. Co-founder Akash Kulgod, 26, explains that in an hour, the startup can perform thousands of sniffs, each evaluating a sample.

Dognosis aims to launch the technology commercially next year, potentially becoming the third company to offer this service after firms from Germany and Israel. Early detection of cancer is crucial for improving survival rates, and Dognosis believes their dog-sniffing system could offer an accessible and cost-effective screening method.

The company is collaborating with government medical institutions and has already conducted a study with over 1,500 participants in Karnataka state, achieving an accuracy rate of over 90 percent across seven major types of cancer. While cancer specialists are cautiously optimistic about the potential of this technology, more research with larger groups is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn.