Indian Startup Trains Dogs to Detect Cancer

Indian startup Dognosis is developing a non-invasive cancer screening test that combines dogs’ exceptional sense of smell with artificial intelligence, according to Pakistani news website Dawn.

The Bengaluru-based company is training 15 dogs using customized 3D-printed helmets and sensors. AI analyzes their brain activity, breathing and body language to identify how they respond to particular scents.

The testing process is simple: a patient breathes into a cotton mask for about 10 minutes, after which the mask is sealed in a bag and taken to the laboratory, where the dogs evaluate the sample.

A recent Dognosis study involving more than 1,500 participants at six hospitals in Karnataka was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The company said it achieved accuracy of more than 90% across seven major types of cancer.

The dogs work for only 30–45 minutes a day at a center called Sniffspace, where they test samples on platforms equipped with automatic feeders that dispense treats as rewards.

Backed by investors including Accel India, Dognosis plans to launch commercially next year. It hopes the method could provide an affordable first layer of cancer screening in India, identifying patients who need further testing.

Independent oncologists have expressed cautious optimism about the technology but say it needs to be tested in a much larger population before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

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