SCREENPOINT MEDICAL

Thanks to more than ten years of development and refinement, Transpara™ can detect up to 30% of breast cancers earlier, allowing patients to be diagnosed on average three years sooner and enabling faster initiation of treatment. Additionally, Transpara™ reduces radiologists’ workload by an average of 44%, actively addressing staff shortages in the healthcare sector.

The Challenge of AI in Healthcare

With an aging population, staff shortages in healthcare are expected to increase, putting enormous pressure on the sector, leading to high workloads, absenteeism, and less time for patients. Digitalization and automation can help, but AI software is not yet fully utilized.

Currently, AI in healthcare can only serve as a support tool and cannot make independent decisions due to strict regulations and lack of trust. A key issue is that many AI systems operate as a black box, leaving physicians unable to verify how the software reaches a conclusion.

ScreenPoint Medical aims to overcome this by making AI transparent and widely applicable as an independent solution.

A Groundbreaking Step: Autonomous AI in Healthcare

ScreenPoint Medical plans to develop AI software that operates independently while being fully transparent in its decision-making. Initially, this will focus on diagnoses with the lowest malignancy scores, with potential future expansion. Physicians will always retain control and can override AI results. To achieve this, ScreenPoint Medical is developing advanced quality control tools and an autonomous AI detection algorithm for early breast cancer diagnosis.

The project is a collaboration with Thirona and Radboud UMC. Thirona, with years of R&D experience, developed LungQ™, a product that maps lung anatomy in 3D (airways, vessels, nodules, etc.). Within this project, Thirona develops an autonomous AI algorithm for navigation and guidance of bronchoscopies for lung cancer biopsies. Radboud UMC provides crucial medical imaging data, clinical validation, and end-user feedback for both AI developments.

EFRO-Oost Subsidy: Support for Innovation

EFRO Oost focuses on Gelderland and Overijssel, aiming to strengthen the economy, accelerate transitions, and improve competitiveness in Eastern Netherlands. The program defines three cross-disciplinary areas of expertise to support innovative solutions. Ugoo identified a perfect match between ScreenPoint Medical’s developments and the Prevention & MedTech crossovers. The autonomous AI development aligns perfectly with the sub-objective MedTech and Connected Health, using technological innovations for early diagnostics.

Thanks to the groundbreaking impact of this AI solution, which improves healthcare and reduces physician workload, the consortium received a subsidy of €2,000,000. This financial support underscores the importance of the project and enables ScreenPoint Medical and Thirona to take a revolutionary step in preventive healthcare.

Collaboration with Ugoo

For this application, Ugoo acted as ScreenPoint Medical’s strategic partner in subsidy acquisition. At the start of this ambitious project, ScreenPoint Medical was looking for a suitable collaboration partner. Ugoo proactively provided guidance and leveraged its network to find the right partners. Ultimately, ScreenPoint Medical found the perfect match within its own network: Thirona. The collaboration was officially established in August 2024, allowing the first steps toward the subsidy application to begin.

In addition to exploring funding opportunities and submitting the application, Ugoo also supports the setup of administrative processes. From drafting and submitting the application to conducting periodic checks, everything is managed to minimize the burden on ScreenPoint Medical. This enables the company to fully focus on innovation and technological advancement.