Colombian startup Salva Health won the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 in San Francisco. Valentina Agudelo and her team developed Julieta, a portable AI-powered device that is able to identify breast cancer at its earliest stages. This groundbreaking initiative aims to address the disparity in breast cancer survival between the developed world and Latin America, where limited access to diagnostic imaging equipment in rural areas has led to high mortality rates.
Julieta works by scanning the density of breast tissue through electrodes on each breast and providing results in minutes through a connected device like a phone or tablet. The device conducts tests autonomously, ensures data transfer integrity, and interprets results through artificial intelligence without requiring specialized radiologists. This makes early screening accessible and at a low cost to underserved populations, particularly women in rural areas.
The idea for Julieta was conceived six years ago when Agudelo stumbled upon the critical need for breast cancer detection at a university entrepreneurship competition. Even while she juggled academic and professional life, including an MBA from INSEAD and working for a Colombian health tech firm, she never dropped the plan to develop Salva Health’s innovative solution.
Salva Health’s victory at the Startup Battlefield indicates that it has what it takes to revolutionize access to healthcare. After competing with over 2,000 applicants and 200 companies that were chosen, Salva Health stood out because it had a noble cause and technological innovation. The competition concluded by presenting to venture capitalists and industry experts who adjudicated them, narrowing down to five finalists before declaring Salva Health the winner.
Along with breast cancer screening, Salva Health is working on solutions for early detection of diabetes and heart disease. Its hardware-as-a-service model ensures constant upgrading of its offerings without making them unaffordable for clients. By addressing some of healthcare’s most significant challenges with scalable solutions, Salva Health is showing the way in how innovation can promote global health equity and save lives.
