Lunit, a provider of AI-powered solutions for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, and Volpara Health, a company that offers AI-powered software to help providers better understand cancer risk, announced they are joining forces to develop a comprehensive ecosystem for early cancer detection, cancer risk prediction and independent AI to improve clinical workflows.

In May, Lunit acquired Volpara and now integrates Volpara's AI breast health platforms, including its Scorecard breast density assessment tool, into its line of AI tools for breast cancer detection.

The acquisition supported Lunit's expansion into the United States, where Volpara boasts that it is used in more than 2,000 medical sites. 

The aim of the collaboration is for the two companies to combine Lunit INSIGHT Risk and Volpara Risk Pathways, offering an extensive path to breast cancer risk management. 

Lunit INSIGHT Risk utilizes AI-enabled imaging data to forecast breast cancer risk within one to five years, providing actionable insights based on mammography images.

Volpara Risk Pathways combines clinical and lifestyle data to deliver comprehensive, individualized risk assessments.

The combination of the tools will allow clinicians to create customized care plans, improve early detection strategies and guarantee impartial care for diverse patient populations.

"By integrating our complementary technologies, we are transforming the way clinicians detect cancer, predict risk, and manage workflows," Brandon Suh, CEO of Lunit, said in a statement.   

"This Ecosystem is more than a set of tools. It's a global solution designed to empower healthcare providers, reduce disparities, and ultimately save more lives; the next frontier in cancer care." 

Teri Thomas, CEO of Volpara Health and CBO of Lunit Cancer Screening Group, said the company's partnership with Lunit has allowed it to combine decades of expertise in AI and personalized care to create a unified ecosystem.

"Together, as part of the same family, we're addressing some of the most pressing challenges in cancer care, from empowering clinicians with actionable insights to improving outcomes for patients around the world," Thomas said in a statement.

"We're proud to showcase the tangible impact of this integration, which is already shaping the future of global cancer detection and care."

THE LARGER TREND

In November, Lunit signed a supply deal with one of Mexico's largest medical networks Salud Digna, which has more than 230 clinics across Mexico and Central America, to deploy Lunit's chest X-ray and mammography AI solutions. 

The deal provided Lunit entry into the network's database of millions of deidentified 2D chest X-ray and mammography images, which would help refine and tailor its AI to the Latin American market.

That same month, Lunit and AstraZeneca partnered to develop new AI-powered digital pathology solutions that predict non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 

According to a media release, their collaboration aims to accelerate the time-consuming process of genomic testing as part of NSCLC identification and diagnosis by leveraging Lunit's AI. The latter's solution can analyze H&E (hematoxylin and eosin) slide images to forecast the likelihood of tumours with NSCLC driver mutations.