Reducing Breast Cancer Deaths: A Simple Screening Tool for Latin America

Valentina Agudelo first noticed the problem while studying for a college competition: women in Latin America were dying more often from breast cancer because it was caught too late. This was mainly due to the lack of access to mammograms in rural areas. So, she and her friends came up with an idea for a portable device to detect breast cancer early. This idea stuck with her, even after the competition ended. She went on to found Salva Health, a company dedicated to developing this device, called Julietta. This device can check tissue density in the breasts and give results quickly on a phone, tablet, or computer. It's not meant to replace mammograms, but to help flag potential issues early. Salva Health partnered with a big insurance company, Grupo Sura, to test Julietta and create an AI model to predict breast cancer risk. They're close to getting approval from Colombia's health regulatory agency, INVIMA. Agudelo plans to distribute Julietta across Latin America once approved. She thinks other countries might accept this approval due to commercial agreements. She also wants to seek FDA recognition, because even in the US, this device could save costs for health insurers. The company wants to expand to other countries, like Africa and India, and isn't stopping at breast cancer. They're looking into early signs of diabetes and heart disease too. Their goal is to catch these conditions early, so they can be treated at a lower cost. Instead of selling the device, Salva Health plans to give it away for free and charge health insurers for each screening. This way, they can keep control of the device and data, making improvements as needed.