Halifax’s Densitas has inked a deal with nonprofit RAD-AID International to deploy its intelliMammo AI mammography software at a hospital in Guyana, where the country’s government runs a publicly funded screening program aimed at combatting rising breast cancer rates.

The intelliMammo platform consolidates three previous software offerings from Densitas that measured patients’ breast density, assessed future cancer risks and offered mammogram image-quality monitoring for quality-control purposes. Breast density is one indicator of the likelihood that someone will develop cancer, and also makes mammography more difficult by concealing lumps.

RAD-AID trained the technicians who perform screenings at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where the program is based, and is now looking to scale up the services on offer.

"In an environment with limited radiological resources, effective patient and process management improves precision breast health through A.I. driven clinical decision support" said Densitas CEO Mo Abdolell in a press release.

"When integrated into healthcare systems, especially in under-resourced regions, A.I. can level the playing field by providing sustainable and scalable solutions at a population level that can reduce healthcare disparities and support better quality care.”

In 2018, Guyana’s age-adjusted death toll from breast cancer was 24.36 people per 100,000 women, compared to 17.49 in the United States.

Focusing its efforts on Global Health, RAD-AID is based in Maryland and provides services at 85 hospitals in 38 low and middle-income countries -- including the Canadian North.

In May, Densitas announced that it had inked deals with the governments of New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia to roll out its technology in provincial hospitals and clinics.

At the time, the company had 16 full-time staff and two part-time staff, with plans for more hires.