Fujifilm to launch two new NURA health screening centers focusing on cancer screening in India
Further expanding health screening service business in emerging countries
Using AI technology that assists advanced imaging for early detection of cancer and lifestyle diseases
FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO, Representative Director: Teiichi Goto) is pleased to announce the opening of two new “NURA” health screening centers focusing on cancer and lifestyle diseases screening in India. The new NURA centers will open in Gurugram on July 21 this year, and in Mumbai in September of the same year.
In February 2021, Fujifilm opened its first NURA health screening center in Bengaluru, India to launch a health screening service business in emerging countries. NURA utilizes Fujifilm's medical devices, capable of providing high-definition images, as well as medical IT systems based on AI technology that are designed to support doctors carry out screening and tests for cancer and lifestyle diseases. With the addition of two sites in Gurugram and Mumbai, Fujifilm will offer screening for cancer and lifestyle diseases in a total of three NURA sites. The company will continue to establish new NURA sites to further expand its health screening service business in emerging countries.
The five-year survival rate among cancer patients in India is said to be around 30 percent as opposed to 70 percent in Japan*. It is considered that one of the factors behind the low survival rate in India is the low proliferation of health screening services, imposing practical difficulty in achieving early detection and early treatment of cancer.
Speaking on the opening of NURA health screening centre in Gurugram, Mr. Teiichi Goto, President, and CEO, Representative Director of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, said, “Ensuring the highest health standards in every region we operate has been our utmost priority. We have a special connection with the Indian market; hence, our purpose is to ensure that health screening services are easily available in the country. We aim to position ourselves where access shall be easier and getting regular screening shall be achievable. We also plan to collaborate with different companies to ensure that a critical aspect of preventive and regular health check-ups is not ignored by the young working class of the country.”
The NURA center is equipped with Fujifilm’s various medical devices including CT scan and mammography system, as well as an AI-based medical IT system that provides interpretation assistance to doctors, offering Japanese-style high-quality health screening services to local residents and employees of nearby companies / medical facilities. People of various age groups have experienced the screening service and are satisfied with the services NURA provides especially the convenience of being able to finish all checks in just about 120 minutes and hearing results directly from a doctor after the screening.
Located at DLF phase 5, sector 43, Gurugram, ‘NURA’ health screening center will tap into insight gained through health screening services. For example, users will be able to check screening results any time on their smartphones. There will also be a workflow that uses a wrist band with a QR code to manage the progress of each visitor to shorten waiting time for individual tests.
Elaborating the need for health screening, Dr. Tausif Ahmed Thangalvadi, Medical Director, NURA, said, “As the complexities in lifestyle have increased, we have become complacent towards our health and wellbeing. It is important that health screening should be a regular part of everyone’s life as there are so many diseases that can be treated when diagnosed at the right time. With the state-of-the-art facilities and technologically advanced equipment manufactured by Fujifilm, we aim at providing the best services and initiate a change in the habits of people in the country.”
Fujifilm’s health screening service business in India became recognized under the Supply Chain Resilience Projects in the Indo-Pacific region promoted by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, receiving high acclaim as an initiative that uses digital technology to contribute to solving social issues in emerging economies. The project involves building data coordination infrastructure based on blockchain technology to verify an AI-based mechanism for analyzing screening data collected from the three NURA sites to provide feedback to NURA users.
Fujifilm will continue to develop and provide various products and services that meet the needs of medical sites to contribute to advancing global health and maintaining and promoting people’s health.
*Source: “GLOBOCAN 2020” database compiled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer