In a significant move that will substantially enhance the quality of oncology care, Apollo Cancer Centre (ACC), Bengaluru, has launched India’s first artificial intelligence (AI)-Precision Oncology Centre (POC). The Centre will help the oncologists, patients and care givers to arrive at the best possible results in a time bound manner, using the enormous possibilities offered by AI.

The POC with its comprehensive and specialised medical services ensures accurate diagnosis, real-time insights, cancer risk assessment, treatment protocol and continuum of care, thus providing cutting-edge services in oncology care not seen in India earlier.

The AI-POC is designed to be patient-centric, in the most personalised manner. It identifies eligible patients for targeted therapy and immunotherapy, as part of the diagnosis and treatment planning. With the help of conversational AI, it educates the patients and family on diagnosis, treatment FAQs and connections to support groups.

The facility was inaugurated by Dinesh Gundu Rao, State Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Karnataka in the presence of Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director at Apollo Hospitals Enterprise; Dr Vijay Agarwal, Lead & Senior Consultant – Medical Oncology, Apollo Cancer Centre (ACC); and Dr Vishwanath S, Senior Consultant, ACC, Bangalore.

Dr Vijay Agarwal, Lead & Senior Consultant – Medical Oncology, ACC, Bengaluru, said, “The Centre will support new patient identification through auto-alerts to operational teams that identify eligible patients for PoCs. Patient SOS auto-alerts to operational teams on deteriorating patient outcomes for intervention and clinical escalation form another key feature.”