India-Sweden healthcare Innovation Centre and its knowledge partner AstraZeneca India on Tuesday announced that it has collaborated with the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) Jammu to integrate Qure.ai’s smart artificial intelligence technology to detect lung cancer early on.

“Under the aegis of Indo Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre (ISHIC), Qure.ai is scaling-up the integration of its AI-powered chest x-ray interpretation tool that can benefit early and easy detection of lung diseases including lung cancer,” the centre said in a statement.

The collaboration with DHS Jammu is a significant example of how technology can be leveraged and simply integrated in the primary healthcare settings, it added.

“Innovation is critical to address the healthcare challenges in the country and we at India-Sweden healthcare innovation centre are working towards a mission to support these innovative solutions. We are delighted to initiate this first project in Jammu towards early screening and diagnosis of lung diseases in the state. We look forward to supporting the start-up ecosystem and the states towards building an innovative ecosystem in the country,” Cecilia Oskarsson, Swedish Trade Commissioner to India said in a statement.

According to AstraZeneca, the AI powered chest X-ray is designed to distinguish lung nodules in under a minute and minimise the chances of lung cancers going undetected.

“We celebrate the progress that has been made in cancer care, including advances in screening, the development of innovative therapies, greater public-private collaboration and increased prioritisation of health equity. As a global cancer community, we have many reasons to be optimistic about the future. We are moving ever closer to achieving our ambition – eliminating cancer as a cause of death,” Dr. Sanjeev Panchal, Country President and Managing Director, AstraZeneca India said in a statement.

Importantly, this tool is being accessed in primary care setting where x-rays are utilised most commonly, it added.

In 2020, there were an estimated 18.1 million cancer cases worldwide with Lung Cancer being the second most common form of the disease. The constant increase in the incidence of lung cancer highlighted the need for healthcare organisation around the world to come together, collaborate and innovate the way lung cancer was addressed.

In India, ISHIC-a tri-part collaboration with AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur and Business Sweden with AstraZeneca and NASSCOM as the knowledge partner was formed to fortify the healthcare ecosystem by identifying, mentoring and integrating some of the smart and best-in-class healthcare solutions, in alignment with the health priorities of the country. To date, the centre has mentored over 37 promising start-ups that can enhance the way healthcare is accessed and delivered, it added.