Artificial intelligence to help doctors and nurses screen for bladder cancer
The idea for Cystotech was born in 2017 when co-founder and CEO Jacob Elmose Jensen became interested in optimising the examination and monitoring of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Jacob Elmose Jensen explains that unnecessary tissue samples are inadvertently taken during endoscopic examinations:
"During bladder biopsies, smaller tumours are often missed, which often results in increased scrutiny of patients, and unnecessary biopsies are also performed, as it is complicated to distinguish benign and malignant changes from each other. Bladder cancer is one of the most resource-intensive cancers to treat globally due to its high recurrence rate. This results in many years of control for the patient group," says Jacob Elmose Jensen
Cystotech is currently developing a tool to help doctors identify the exact areas of the bladder that need to be biopsied. With the help of artificial intelligence, Cystotech will make it easier for doctors to distinguish between normal tissue and tumour formation. In doing so, the company also wants patients to receive faster and more targeted treatment, thus avoiding the side effects that often arise from unnecessary surgery.
Startup Cystotech joined INCUBA StartupLab in June 2022: "Being part of INCUBA's StartupLab is really great. We have the opportunity to focus on our business because the framework is right. There are lots of great facilities and it's fantastic that our small business can grow within the framework when we need it," says Jacob Elmose Jensen. Co-founder and vice dir. Anna Munk Nielsen adds: "In the INCUBA environment, there is a great willingness to help us identify which competencies we might need along the way."
Currently, the employees are collecting clinical data and developing their product, which they will finalise over the coming years.
Photo: Lars Bech