Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) has successfully concluded the PRESCRIP-TEC Conference on 13–14 November 2025, reaffirming its support for India’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Mission. The event was organised in Manipal by MAHE’s Manipal School of Information Sciences (MSIS), Prasanna School of Public Health (PSPH), and Kasturba Medical College (KMC).
The PRESCRIP-TEC initiative is a global collaboration involving the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Tata Memorial Hospital, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and MAHE, which leads the India chapter. The project focuses on creating innovative, accessible, and scalable solutions for cervical cancer screening, especially in low-resource settings. It aligns directly with India’s target to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.
The two-day conference brought together national and international experts, policymakers, and healthcare professionals to discuss innovations developed under the Prevention and Screening Innovation Project Toward Elimination of Cervical Cancer (PRESCRIP-TEC). This programme is jointly supported by DBT and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 initiative.
A major achievement of the project is the “Screen, Triage, and Treat” model. This approach combines community outreach, digital health solutions, and AI-powered diagnostic tools. Under this model, more than 10,000 women across India were sensitised about cervical cancer screening, and over 7,200 women took part in hrHPV self-testing. Additionally, more than 360 AI-assisted Visual Inspections with Acetic Acid (VIA-AI) were completed using the SAKHI Smart AI Kit. The project also trained over 100 community health workers and 60 medical professionals, making the model practical and ready for large-scale implementation.
One of the most significant innovations presented at the conference was the AI-assisted decision-support system (AI-DSS). Initially developed as part of a PhD project at MAHE and refined at MSIS, this indigenous system enhances the accuracy and speed of cervical cancer detection. The VIA-AI device is currently being validated across India, Bangladesh, and Uganda, highlighting India’s capacity to develop affordable, globally relevant digital health technologies.
The conference featured prominent speakers, including representatives from WHO India, CMC Vellore, CFCHC Tamil Nadu, and ICMR-NCDIR. Opening the event, Dr. Keerthana Prasad, Director of MSIS and Lead Principal Investigator of PRESCRIP-TEC, emphasised the project’s role in transforming screening in resource-limited regions through AI and strong community participation.
The India chapter of PRESCRIP-TEC involved institutions such as SDM College of Ayurveda (Udupi), Tata Memorial Hospital (Mumbai), Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (Kolkata), Tata Medical Center (Kolkata), St. John’s Medical College (Bengaluru), and Sikkim Manipal University (Gangtok). The project concluded with practical recommendations for integrating AI-driven screening methods and cost-effective strategies into India’s national programme.
By combining research, technology, training, and community engagement, PRESCRIP-TEC demonstrates how collaborative innovation can accelerate India’s journey toward eliminating cervical cancer by 2030.
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