Another woman pushing the limits of science is Kathryn Malherbe. MedAI Sol is working on the development of deep machine learning (DML) and artificial intelligence (AI) software for breast cancer identification and segmentation for breast ultrasound in the diagnostic imaging sector.

Having worked in clinical practice for the past 15 years, she was inspired to understand why breast cancers are at times missed during ultrasound imaging.

“In order to do give cancer a ‘name’, you require on-site infrastructure to do a biopsy to send to the pathologists who have to evaluate the breast tissue under the microscope to identify what type of cancer it is. Most clinics don’t have the facilities needed, and having thorough biopsies done can take up to six months for a patient to get the answer they need, delaying their standard care of practice,” says Malherbe. “Our innovation can make a real change in the high mortality rate currently associated with breast cancer in South Africa,” she adds.

A total R12.6 million in grant funding and business development support was given away to 17 social innovators and disability groups at the 10^th annual SAB Foundation Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards.

The ceremony was held virtually on Tuesday.

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