April, 27, 2020 – Kyoto, Japan – HACARUS, the leading provider of lightweight and explainable AI, today announced the start of joint research with the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics (hereafter “Kyoto University”) for prevention and early diagnosis of cervical cancer, using its novel AI technology.

“To solve this compelling problem, our data scientists look forward to working closely with the gynecology and obstetrics department of the university – the results of these efforts will help healthcare professionals provide better, AI enabled, care” said Kenshin Fujiwara, HACARUS CEO and Founder.

Cervical cancer has been growing rapidly in recent years, and in Japan it has risen to become the most common women’s related cancer type. In fact, annually around 10,000 new cases are reported – worse yet, cervical cancer leads to around 3,000 deaths in Japan, each year. Furthermore, Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) a precancerous condition has explosively increased among women in their 20s and 30s, leading to ever more women in need of care and physical examination.

However, today the healthcare system is unable to support this increasing demand, due to a severe shortage of specialist oncologists and colposcopy equipment – which ultimately means that many patients fail to get timely treatment and diagnosis.

To remedy this resource gap, HACARUS and Kyoto University aim to digitize specialist oncologist’s know-how and during the joint R&D project the two parties will:

(1) Build a highly accurate AI model for early cancer detection using colposcopy video data.

(2) Enable AI fueled diagnosis support in line with the diagnosis and treatment standards of Japan.

(3) Construct a tool that can identify lesions with high accuracy and assist diagnosis of tissue sampling in facilities where specialists are not present.

The results will be presented in academic papers, and at related conferences, as well as exhibited at tradeshows. While the project will initially focus on the domestic market, the need for cervical cancer treatment is universal, and the issues faced in Japan are echoed across the developed world – giving the solution a truly global appeal.