Bengaluru, India – When rescue dog Chloe is not tumbling across the grass on a farm outside India’s tech capital Bengaluru, she is learning to sniff human breath for cancer with a little help from artificial intelligence. Fitted with a 3D-printed helmet and harness packed with sensors, Chloe is part of experimental efforts to use dogs’ extraordinary sense of smell to develop a noninvasive test for the disease. A growing body of global research suggests dogs can be trained to detect cancer and other human illnesses, from Parkinson’s to COVID-19.
The Bengaluru-based startup Dognosis is using AI to analyze dogs’ brain activity, respiration and body language — turning their reaction to scent into data. Early detection can make a crucial difference to cancer survival rates, but in India, many patients are diagnosed only after the disease has advanced. Dog sniffs could provide an easy and affordable first layer of screening to be deployed at scale, finding potential cases for further testing.
As it chases commercial approval, Dognosis — backed by venture-capital firms including Accel India — is collaborating with government medical institutions for its research. Chloe, a Labrador mix, is one of 15 dogs being coached by the startup, clad in customized data-gathering helmets. Research suggests diseases can alter the chemicals released by the body, creating distinctive odors.
Dogs have around 300 million scent receptors, compared to about 5 million in humans. The testing method is simple: A patient breathes into a cotton mask for about 10 minutes, and the mask is then sealed in a bag and taken to the lab. Patients do not meet the dogs.
A recent Dognosis study of more than 1,500 participants, involving six hospitals in Karnataka state, was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The company said it achieved an accuracy rate of more than 90% across seven major types of cancer and now plans to test in real-world programs. Cancer specialists in Bengaluru independent of the project voiced cautious optimism.
Dognosis says it aims to improve “proactive and preventative medicine” while boosting “human-canine communication.” Most of the dogs are beagles, along with some Malinois and Shepherd mixes, brought on board through adoption or legal breeders. But only the best are selected, said Kulgod. The dog team individually lists each animal on the company website as an official “sniffer,“ alongside their photographs.
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