Sang'udi Sang'udi

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable malignant diseases, yet it remains the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. An estimated 604,000 women are diagnosed and 342,000 die each year, with more than 85% of cases and 90% of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (WHO, 2020). This disproportionate burden reflects inequalities in access to screening, diagnosis, and timely treatment. In LMICs, Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is the most common screening method, but its effectiveness is limited by subjectivity and provider variability. Conversely, Pap smear cytology has reduced incidence and mortality in high-income countries but is difficult to scale in LMICs due to dependence on pathologists, infrastructure demands, and delayed turnaround times. Saratani AI introduces a cost-effective artificial intelligence solution that integrates digital VIA imaging with automatic image recognition to detect precancerous lesions at the point of care. Women flagged with suspicious findings are referred for Pap smear?based confirmatory analysis, creating a complementary system that combines accessibility with accuracy. To date, the team has collected over 5,000 Pap smear images and 400 VIA images, establishing one of the largest regional datasets to train and validate its AI models. The solution demonstrates strong scalability potential: it is portable, affordable, and requires minimal specialist expertise, enabling deployment in rural and underserved settings. Its societal and economic impact lies in reducing preventable deaths, lowering treatment costs through early detection, and ensuring women?s equitable access to timely, life-saving cancer care.