TECH & SCIENCE / BIO SENSORS
So why not join forces and partner up with our canine pals?
Through smell, a dog is capable of detecting particles in the order of 1 part per trillion. Multiple studies have shown that dogs can be trained to accurately identify the scent of certain types of cancer earlier than any medical diagnostics device.
Endowed with between 250-300 million receptors, a dog's sense of smell is estimated to be between 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than ours. Also, about 30% of a canine’s brain function has to do with olfaction. This remarkable ability makes them ideally suited for tasks such as tracking scents, detecting drugs or explosives, and of course, identifying certain diseases in humans.
The Power of the Crowd
Similar to medical committees that discuss cases and make tough patient decisions, we also get our dogs in groups to seek consensus on their “opinions” every time. In the case of canines, they actually see this as playing, and definitely enjoy what they’re doing much more. Maybe this is because they did not have to study for 12 years and go through all those endless night shifts…
Detection Capacity and Repeatability
Our proprietary advanced training protocol is completely replicable across countries, and is highly scalable too. The daily sniffing capacity of dogs is huge. Thanks to LUCID Stations' specially designed structure and handling that allows us to provide them samples fast enough, we utilize a major part of this volume.
Under One Sec per Sample
It takes a dog about 500 ms to clear a sample.
A single lab facility staffed by our dogs is designed to deliver over 1 million tests per year, enough to cover the needs of a 4 million population of adults aged 40+ designated for testing as per cancer screening guidelines.
94% Right
The recently completed Rainbow clinical performance study, showed that although dogs were trained to detect 4 specific types of cancer, a task they delivered with high accuracy, they also identified many other cancer types they had not been trained to find. Talk about taking initiative. The numbers are even more impressive when we take into account that they were able to sniff out early-stage cancer too.
Over time, and as training and learning improve, we expect even more specific results.
This will mean significant savings for patients and the healthcare system as a whole in terms of time, which is critical for starting treatment, and financial costs.
Easy, accessible, reliable, early detection means less suffering, better quality of life, and many many more lives saved.
Caring for Our Canines
Every dog recruited into the team goes through a highly humane assessment and qualification program. Our specialized staff handle their daily routine and ensure their wellbeing. The dogs live in the kibbutz where our offices are located, close to nature. They are part of the community and enjoy great working conditions, with regular runs in the backyard, and time in the playground. They are rewarded with love and warmth (and goodies, of course).
The Wonders
of Canine Olfaction
The olfactory system of dogs
is sophisticated and incredibly powerful to a level of one part per trillion.
Dogs are our best friends in more ways than we think 🦮❤️
