Better Medicine, a Tartu-based HealthTech startup co-founded by Estonian and Ukrainian researchers, has been backed up with a €2,5M grant from the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator, writes Estonian news portal Delfi. The company specialises in automating the analysis of cancer CT scans using AI and software tools, aimed at supporting radiologists in the fight against cancer.
Years of research put in practice
With a team, including Priit Salumaa, Dmytro Fishman, Bohdan Petryshak, Helena Ije, and Vitalii Lakusta, Better Medicine emerged as a result of their extensive research in the application of artificial intelligence.
Recognising the need for practical solutions to ease the burden on doctors and patients, it developed an AI-powered system capable of detecting the metastatic spread of cancer across various organs, assessing disease progression, and monitoring treatment response.
Dmytro Fishman, co-founder and AI lecturer at the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science, expressed his delight at receiving the EIC grant, emphasising the significant impact it holds not only for their company but also for the entire field.
“I could not be happier. Years of research are being put into practice for the sake of doctors and patients. This is really the main reason why I became a scientist,” he added. With this additional funding boost, Better Medicine now has the opportunity to transform cancer diagnostics using their powerful AI models.
Better Medecine product in action
Capturing opportunities
In a recent interview with Life in Estonia, Better Medicine’s CEO, Priit Salumaa, discussed the origins of the company and their vision for the future. Salumaa shared that the idea for Better Medicine arose during the COVID-19 pandemic when he sought new challenges and recognised the potential for digitalisation in the medical sector. “The whole sector is getting a lot more attention and new things are emerging,” he stressed at the time.
Their goal is to streamline and automate manual tasks, such as tumour measurements, ultimately saving up to 13 million hours of radiologists’ time worldwide annually. With cancer being a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly one in six deaths in 2020, the urgency to enhance efficiency in cancer diagnostics becomes paramount.
Better Medicine has made significant progress since its establishment in late 2020. The team have developed four proof-of-concept models, initiated collaborations with Tartu University Hospital and Pärnu Hospital for clinical validation, and set up a digital office in Leeds, England. It was also supported by Enterprise Estonia’s programme for applied research as part of the union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new grant funding will allow supercharging of all those efforts.
Estonia, for its part, is once again emerging as a perfect test bed for innovative solutions, leveraging academic might with a friendly business environment. Boasting a full-fledged ecosystem of HealthTech solutions — from startups that battle heart disease to digital depression treatment — the country continues to accelerate forward.
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