NewsVoir
Manipal (Karnataka) [India], November 18: Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) successfully convened the PRESCRIP-TEC Conference on November 13-14, aligning with the Government of India's Cervical Cancer Elimination Mission. MAHE's Manipal School of Information Sciences (MSIS), Prasanna School of Public Health (PSPH), and Kasturba Medical College (KMC, Manipal) organized the conference in Manipal.
The PRESCRIP-TEC consortium represents a powerful collaboration of global and national institutions -- including DBT, Tata Memorial Hospital, the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), and MAHE, which serves as the lead implementing partner in India. Together, they exemplify thought leadership and cross-sectoral partnership in advancing equitable women's health and India's 2030 elimination target.
The two-day event brought together national and international experts, policymakers, and healthcare professionals to discuss scalable innovations in cervical cancer screening under the Prevention and Screening Innovation Project Toward Elimination of Cervical Cancer (PRESCRIP-TEC), a global initiative jointly implemented by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 program.
PRESCRIP-TEC's "Screen, Triage, and Treat" model integrates community participation, digital health, and AI-enabled diagnostics. Across India, the project has sensitized over 10,000 women, facilitated 7,200+ hrHPV self-tests, and conducted 360+ AI-assisted Visual Inspections with Acetic Acid (VIA-AI) using the SAKHI Smart AI Kit for Healthcare Innovation. Over 100 community health workers and 60 medical professionals have been trained, reinforcing the model's scalability and integration within primary healthcare systems.
This approach, built on inclusivity and cost-effectiveness, serves as a replicable blueprint for cervical cancer elimination in low- and middle-income countries.
A major highlight in PRESCRIP-TEC is Development and Field testing of AI Innovation Previously part of a Ph.D. at MAHE, Designed and refined at the Manipal School of Information Sciences, this indigenous AI-assisted decision-support system (AI-DSS) powers the VIA-AI component of the project, enabling accurate and affordable early detection in field settings. Currently undergoing validation across India, Bangladesh, and Uganda, the technology underscores India's growing capability to develop and deploy homegrown digital health solutions of global relevance.
Distinguished speakers included Dr. Abhishek Kunwar (WHO India), Dr. Anu Mary Oommen (CMC Vellore), Dr. Esmy P. Okkuru, Radiation Oncologist at CFCHC, Tamil Nadu and Dr. Bency Joseph (ICMR-NCDIR), alongside leading experts from across the world.
Opening the conference, Dr. Keerthana Prasad, Professor and Director, MSIS, and Lead Principal Investigator of PRESCRIP-TEC, remarked, "PRESCRIP-TEC represents a paradigm shift in how we approach cervical cancer screening in resource-limited settings. Through AI-assisted diagnostics and strong community engagement, we are transforming access to preventive healthcare and contributing to India's 2030 elimination mission."
The India implementation of PRESCRIP-TEC, involving MAHE, SDM College of Ayurveda (Udupi), Tata Memorial Hospital (Mumbai), Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute and Tata Medical Center (Kolkata), St. John's Medical College (Bengaluru), and Sikkim Manipal University (Gangtok), concluded with actionable recommendations for integrating AI-based screening and cost-effective strategies into India's national framework.
By converging research, technology, and community action, PRESCRIP-TEC stands as a model for how collaborative innovation can drive national health transformation - placing India at the forefront of the global mission to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.
For more information about PRESCRIP-TEC, visit: www.prescriptec.org
The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is an Institution of Eminence Deemed-to-be University. MAHE offers over 400 specializations across the Health Sciences (HS), Management, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences (MLHS), and Technology & Science (T&S) streams through its constituent units at campuses in Manipal, Mangalore, Bengaluru, Jamshedpur, and Dubai. With a remarkable track record in academics, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and significant contributions to research, MAHE has earned recognition and acclaim both nationally and internationally. In October 2020, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, awarded MAHE the prestigious Institution of Eminence status. Currently ranked 3rd in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), MAHE is the preferred choice for students seeking a transformative learning experience and enriching campus life.
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