Dogs are known as our best friends. They are loyal, good companions and play with us, protect us, and love us without any conditions.
But did you know that dogs can also tell if you're sick?
Yes, it is real. Dogs can detect the illnesses in our body. And one Indian startup is using this power to fight cancer.
This is a story of Dognosis.
How It All Started
The story begins during the second wave of Covid-19.
Akash Kulgod was a student at UC Berkeley, USA. He returned home to Belagavi, Karnataka when Covid struck. His father was a doctor, running a Covid care hospital at that time.
Simultaneously, something incredible happened in the world. The dogs could detect the smell of Covid-19 from the humans. These were even more accurate than the RT-PCR test!
This surprised Akash. There was one question running through his mind: “If dogs can detect Covid, why aren't they being used all over?”
At the same time, in Israel, a man named Itamar Bitan was already working with dogs. He was a former dog handler with the Special Forces of the Israeli Army. He never imagined that after serving in the army, he would begin training dogs to detect breast cancer, Parkinson's, and other diseases.
It was in 2023 that Akash and Itamar met. Their shared dream was to use a dog's nose to save the lives of humans. Together, they started Dognosis in Bengaluru.
What Dognosis Does
Dognosis breeds dogs to sniff out cancer in people's breath.
The process is simple:
- A person breathes into a mask for 10 minutes.
- Mask is taken to the Dognosis lab.
- A trained dog is used to smell the sample.
- Each sample is tested by three or more dogs individually.
- An artificial intelligence system is used to analyze the dogs reactions and the individual's medical record.
- Together, they give a final cancer risk score.
This is not magic. Dogs can detect very small changes in our breath. These changes occur in the presence of a disease, such as cancer. These changes are known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
Proof That It Works
Dognosis did not say this. They proved it.
They tested it in 6 hospitals in Karnataka. The test was conducted on over 3000 participants. They were correct about 90% of the time — even when the cancers were in the early stages.
This result was published in a top cancer journal called the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Soon after, top sites such as Bloomberg and the BBC and TechCrunch wrote about it.
Dognosis was also selected to join a special startup program called Atoms X, which the Accel and Prosus have launched.
Its importance for India
India has a big cancer problem. Approximately 1.5 million new cancer cases are discovered each year. Unfortunately more than 900,000 people die from it.
This is one major cause because they are not detected on time. Many people find out about cancer only when it is too late to treat easily.
Dognosis aims to change that. They perform a simple test, with no needles or scans necessary and it is inexpensive. Simply breathe into a mask for 10 minutes.
What's Next
Right now, Dognosis is running a bigger trial called Phase 3. In this trial, 10 hospitals are involved and approximately 10,000 individuals.
The company will release this test to the public around 2027. They also aim to go to the United States market by late 2027 or early 2028.
Final Thought
Dogs have always protected us, guided us, and loved us. But now, they just may save our lives by smelling our breath.
The future of cancer screening may not come from a machine. It could be from a wagging tail and a curious nose.
