With limited access to screening, staggeringly few breast cancer patients in developing countries are diagnosed at the early stages of the disease, when it is most curable.
UE Lifesciences, a
University City Science Center company, is working to meet that challenge with a low-cost, portable breast exam device.
Mihir Shah founded UELS in 2009 after several friends and family members were diagnosed with breast cancer. In April 2015, the FDA cleared the
iBreastExam, a hand-held device that is painless, radiation-free and delivers accurate results in less than five minutes for less than $2 per exam. A few months later, UELS raised $3 million in equity funding. Now the company is using the capital to fabricate the device in Mumbai and scale it across India. Shah hopes to reach one million women there by the end of the year, though "even that would be a drop in the bucket," he says.
"iBreastExam is a game-changing technological breakthrough for countries and regions with rising breast cancer levels, most cases detected at late stages, and limited to no access to early detection for most women," explains the company on its website. "iBreastExam harnesses the power of innovative sensor technology, software computing and smartphone revolution, such that a doctor or any health-worker can offer objective and effective breast examinations, with ease and comfort."
The portable device is UELS's second invention. Its
NoTouch Breast Scan, cleared by the FDA in 2012, is a contact-less and radiation-free screening tool, targeted at certain categories of women, including those at high risk for breast cancer.
Science Center spokeswoman Kristen Fitch calls UELS a poster child for the campus. Its core sensor technology was invented at
Drexel University. The Science Center supported early prototyping through its
QED program. UELS is also a graduate of the Center’s
Digital Health Accelerator and continues to work out of the Center.
"They've been very flexible with the use of space, subsidized rent and great introductions to people," enthuses Shah.
Besides the equity funding, Shah reports that UELS has raised $1 million-plus in grant funding and $1.5 million in revenue.
"We are just getting started," he says. "We are looking to broaden our innovation portfolio and tap the huge unmet need for highly prevalent cancers in underserved markets. UELS is now a 30-person organization spread over two countries and growing fast."
WRITER IN RESIDENCE is a partnership between the University City Science Center and Flying Kite Media that embeds a reporter on-site at 3711 Market Street. The resulting coverage will provide an inside look at the most intriguing companies, discoveries and technological innovations coming out of this essential Philadelphia institution.