Germany’s deep tech platform Vara brings AI-driven breast screening to Greece

This Women's Day, Germany's AI-driven startup Vara has partnered with MITERA Hospital in Athens to increase access to breast screening for women in the country
Germany’s deep tech platform Vara brings AI-driven breast screening to Greece

After recently launching its first co-branded breast screening unit in Mexico, German deep tech startup Vara has now partnered with MITERA Hospital in Athens to increase access to breast screening for women in Greece to combat the challenge.

The AI-powered platform has tied up with the largest private hospital in Greece and a member of Hellenic Healthcare Group to revolutionise comprehensive healthcare to patients across Athens. These screening centres will feed into highly specialised diagnostic clinics where further diagnostic work-up and appropriate management will be ensured.

In Greece, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women with more than 7,770 new cases in 2020. It’s also the third most common cancer in the entire Greek population, representing 12% of all cancer cases in 2020. 

Vara will be able to support and complement the work of radiologists on the ground at its screening centres nationwide – to improve efficiency and increase screening rates. In its home turf in Germany, the company has currently integrated in more than 20% of screening units. Vara’s AI has evaluated more than 6 million mammograms.

In the first phase, the AI-driven startup will set up its screening platform in the other hospitals of HHG. Jonas Muff, co-founder and CEO of Vara, said: “It’s completely unjust that millions of women worldwide have an increased risk of dying from breast cancer, or are having to undergo invasive treatments because of a lack of sufficient screening. We want to close this diagnostic gap in Greece and are bringing our AI-powered platform here.” 

Dr. Alexandra Athanasiou, head of breast imaging at MITERA said: “MITERA has been at the forefront of providing comprehensive care to women for more than 40 years and our partnership with Vara will allow us to build on this experience by bringing cutting-edge diagnostic tools to the assistance of our teams of radiologists.”

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