MIT Solve

Solution & Team Overview

Solution name:

The Blue Box

Short solution summary:

Designed after a dog's olfactory system and olfactory neurons, The Blue Box is an AI-powered biomedical device aimed at in-home breast cancer testing in a non-invasive, non-irradiating, inexpensive, specific and user-friendly way... Just by introducing a urine sample in a BOX!

The Blue Box was created to elevate the need to provide better healthcare to every woman around the globe. By doing so, we aim at creating a change in the way we -as a society- fight breast cancer.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team based?

Irvine, CA, USA

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Judit Giró Benet.

I studied biomedical engineering at the University of Barcelona, where I once met a dog that smelled patients’ breath and barked if s/he had lung cancer...

Which Challenge Area does your solution most closely address?

Identify (Determine & limit the disease risk pool & spill over risk), such as: Genomic data to predict emerging risk, Early warning through ecological, behavioural & other data, Intervention/Incentives to reduce risk for emergency & spill over

What specific problem are you solving?

The American Cancer Society predicted that breast cancer would represent 30% of all cancers diagnosed in the US in 2021. However, research dedicated to it is not proportional to its incidence. Actually, the NIH recognised women as underrepresented in medical research.

This trend can be observed in the field of oncology, specifically considering current breast cancer screenings. Indeed, a study by the CDC stated that only 65% women attended it in the last 2 years, potentially resulting in 1/3 breast cancers being detected too late, and thus women having a worse prognosis and survival chance. Reasons for women skipping the mammogram-based screening are multiple: pain (41% of interviewees), difficulty of work absence and poor insurance coverage according to the Journal of Women’s Health.

Furthermore, according to the Catalan (Spain) Department of Health, only 6.45% of breast cancers diagnosed via mammogram are actually cancer. In other words, the sensitivity of the mammogram is dramatically low.

Finally, although its dose is not substantial enough to be considered harmful, biennially exposure to the mammogram increases breast cancer risk itself.

In conclusion, there exists a need for a non-invasive, inexpensive, sensitive and in-home breast cancer screening.

Who does your solution serve, and what needs of theirs does it address?

Due to its irradiating nature, mammogram-based screenings only target a narrow population segment (typically ages 45-65) – for the diagnosis power to outweigh its cancerous radiation dose. Nevertheless, The Blue Box is aimed at all women from all ages.

The proposed scenario is that of every family owning a Blue Box, which can be used by all its female members at their desired frequency and indefinitely. Every single user owns an account at The Blue App, which keeps track of her screening history throughout her whole life.

In turn, the Blue App gathers data from users worldwide, which is then used to release new software versions with enhanced prediction algorithms that get automatically installed to every Blue Box at every home.

As a conclusion, the presented breast cancer screening solution can be performed at home, with no need of medical knowledge. Additionally, because it is highly software-based, it is considerably inexpensive to manufacture, which translates into being accessible for an extremely wide population segment, regardless of its economical status and health insurance conditions. Examplewise, a Blue Box is worth $80 and can be reused indefinitely, whilst a mammogram and MRI cost $175 and $700 respectively per single use.

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: A project, initiative, venture, or organisation deploying its research, product, service, or business/policy model in at least one context or community