Pune-based startup, In-Med Prognostics has received Biotechnology Ignition Grant of Rs. 50 Lakhs for a duration of 18 months from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Government of India. The grant will be used to develop a cloud-based software platform that will label, visualize, and quantify the volumes of brain structures using 3D MRI images.  Startup incubator Venture Center in Pune is one of the partners and is associated with In-Med Prognostics for providing mentoring support and project monitoring.

In-Med Prognostics was founded by Rajesh Purushottam, Dr. Latha Poonamallee, and Dr. Al Curran with the aim of bringing affordable, accessible, evidence-based brain health diagnostic and prognostic tools to India and other emerging markets. After having been selected as one of Top 20 Global Science-based ventures in the prestigious Falling Walls Venture competition, Berlin, 2016, the team has made great strides in bringing the state-of-the-art knowledge and technology in neuroscience, image processing, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, to assist Indian physicians in accurately diagnosing various neurological disorders such as epilepsy and dementia.

Speaking about this grant, Rajesh Purushottam, Co-founder In-Med Prognostics, said, “Our proprietary software ‘Neuroshield’, addresses the need of the hour in neurology: accurate volumetric analysis of the brain and its structures. We will be leveraging deep learning algorithm and machine learning to provide time saving accurate Neuro analysis which will aid in assessment and early detection of neurological disorders such as Dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s at affordable prices. The proposed solution is to provide a self-explicative volumetric report within an analysis time of 20 minutes”.

The Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) scheme is an initiative of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. It is India’s largest early stage biotech startup funding program that supports innovative ideas right from concept to proof-of-concept to advanced validation stage.