Cancer is something that makes us weak at the knees but if one gets timely information about it, then beating it is not impossible. Tumour is the starting point of what could become a painful story. Growth of a tumour in our body gives us the scary feeling of having cancer but tumours can be of two types. One, which causes cancer and another, which does not. Therefore, it becomes very important to test tumours.
To fight this unseen danger, Vivek and Soumya, students of the 2018 batch of electronics and communication engineering from Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, Bihar, decided to make an app which can diagnose tumour(s) in any part of the body and can tell whether they could cause cancer.
The idea evolved during lockdown
Soumya said, “Two of us started working on this app in December 2021 and Ravi sir, our mentor, fully helped us in this. He is doing PhD in Image Processing. During the lockdown, we were mostly sitting at home. It was at that time when we thought of doing something different to help people.”
“While discussing with other people, we realised that common people are very scared of cancer. We were clear that we should work with a mission to reduce the anxiety and we started working on this project. The app will magnify the MRI image of the cancer-affected part of the body so that a closer examination could be done. Besides, the app will also help in understanding the type of the tumour; the reason behind its growth; and other key information related to it,” she added.
Vivek also spoke on the matter. He said, “We have made the app in a way that it can project MRI images. The name of the app is Graphic User Interface (GUI) and it is entirely based on softwares. As of now, this app can be used only on desktop and work is underway to make it available on Google Play Store as well from where people can easily download it.”
Doctors’ work to become easy
Soumya said the patient can first upload his/her MRI image on the app by pressing the ‘upload’ button. Next, he/she has to click the ‘detect’ button and soon it will be revealed whether the tumour being tested is a cancer-causing one or not. She added that it is difficult to detect cancer with the help of MRI scan only because of chances of human error. But the app is error-proof and can give the right information in minutes, which would also make things easier for the doctors.
Challenges have always been there
Both Vivek and Soumya said that it was not easy to make the app. “We have seen how our mentor Ravi sir works. He has published a number of research papers and they inspire us to do something new. Besides, it is also a challenge to win people’s trust and spread awareness about the app. It is very important that we take this app to the rural areas so that people from all parts of the country can make use of it.”
“Apart from the app, we are also working on another project which can help in detecting diseases such as glaucoma, diabetes, and few others through examination of retina pictures,” they said. The progressive work and perseverance of these youths convey a positive message that in a not-so-distant future, people will be less scared about cancer and be equipped with proper knowledge about it. That will help them to go for timely treatment for the disease and defeat it.
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