Cipla launched a breakthrough screening technology called the No Touch Breast Scan (NTBS) in India recently. NTBS is the first painless, non-invasive and radiation-free breast scanning technique for detecting breast cancer at an early stage. Three centres across India have already installed the 40 lakh worth machine. The cost of each NTBS test would range between Rs 800 to 1000, depending on the pricing determined individually by the hospitals and centres.

Today, one in every 22 women in India is expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Dr Shekhar Kulkarni, consultant breast cancer surgeon, Magnolia Breast Surgery Clinic, Pune points out, “Although mammography has been available for years it is not used widely across the country. There are many reasons for it such as lack of awareness, pain and discomfort during the procedure and a concern about repeated exposure to radiation etc.”

Developed by UE Life Sciences, the NTBS is the world’s first fully computerised thermal imaging technology with dual IR cameras which can find thermal changes at less than 0.08 degree C. The NTBS using infrared imaging creates a sophisticated heat-map of the breast without using any radiation. Breast cancer is associated with increased formation of new blood vessels and these show up as 'hot spots' which could indicate a cancerous growth.

With introduction of this technology in India, Cipla has entered into the diagnostic market. According to Dr Jaideep Gogtay, medical director, Cipla, “Cipla has been working in the area of cancer by manufacturing drugs for the last 20 years but this is for the first time we have taken a step towards focusing on early diagnosis of breast cancer.”

Dr Rakesh Sinha, consultant gynaecologist surgeon, Beams Hospital, Mumbai informs, “The NTBS is a painless option for women who wish to get themselves regularly screened. It is of particular use in younger women who have dense breasts and mammography is inconclusive. If a woman shows changes on the NTBS then she is sent for further investigation which includes mammography, sonography etc. At Beams Mumbai, of the 41 patients who have undergone the NTBS test, only one had to be referred for mammography.”

At Dr Kulkarni’s Magnolia Beauty and Clinic in Pune, the NTBS test was taken by about 165 women and only 12 of them needed further investigation. The NTBS would be exclusively marketed by Cipla across diagnostic centres and hospitals in India. It has already been installed at BEAMS Hospital, Mumbai and Indore and Magnolia Beauty and Clinic, Pune and would be extended by Cipla on a requirement-basis to over 20 more diagnostic centres or hospitals across India.

There are NTBS machines available in the US, UK, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan, but women in India would have greater access to this landmark technology and have more control over their breast health.

Thermal imaging has been approved by the FDA several years ago for early diagnosis of breast cancer. With improvements in digital camera technology during the last few years, thermal imaging is fast gaining acceptance.