S2 Episode 16: Shining a light on bowel cancer - early diagnosis using spectroscopy and AI, with Adam Bryant of CanSense

This is conversation number 7 with a business in the 2021 cohort of the ‘AI for Social Impact Programme’ – which is a partnership between Social Tech Trust and Microsoft for Startups. who are supporting purpose driven ventures using technology to make a positive impact on people’s lives.  

A major theme of the programme is helping the healthcare industry bounce back faster and stronger post Covid, and my guest business this week will be playing a key part in that.  

We hear a lot about the huge backlog of patients whose treatments have been postponed by the pandemic, but there are also likely to be large numbers of patients with undiagnosed conditions because they haven’t been able to see the necessary specialists. And the consequences for those at risk of cancer are potentially the most serious. 

CanSense is an early stage healthtech business that is developing a non-invasive, blood diagnostic for the early detection of Cancer using Spectroscopy and AI-based technologies. 

The focus is on bowel cancer, which is the second most common cancer globally and the leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. 

It’s a single blood test that is fast, accurate and inexpensive, and uses data analytics and machine learning to maximise results. 

I’m delighted to be speaking to CEO Adam Bryant, who teamed up with scientists Peter Dunstan and Dean Harris back in 2018 after a twenty year career in investment banking with Credit Suisse and UBS. Adam has a phD in Theoretical Physics, which he studied for alongside Peter before he was drawn into the finance world.