Why in news?

• Recently, a Kerala-based medical technology start-up Sascan Meditech has been adjudged the winner of Startup India Grand Challenge 2021 in the medical device category of the Government of India.

About Sascan Meditech

• It is a startup, founded by Subhash Narayanan, a scientist-turned-biomedical entrepreneur. It focuses on developing affordable healthcare products and solutions for cancer care and screening, based on biophotonics and allied technologies.
• The award was announced by Amitabh Kant CEO, NITI Aayog, after a rigorous evaluation process, and Sascan was selected from among 310 startups that had participated in the grand challenge, a statement from the Ministry of Science & Technology said.

Products by Sascan Meditech

• It has developed OralScan, a handheld device for early, accurate and cost-effective detection of pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth. It is a bio-photonics technology-based device, and the results of clinical trials have been published in a scientific journal. OralScan was launched in October 2020 and has reached eight states in India.
• Its second product, CerviScan, a hand-held non-invasive device for cervical cancer screening and early detection of cervical cancer, will be launched soon.

Other awards

• The startup was also recently selected as the winner of ‘Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award 2021’ from the Anjani Mashelkar Foundation, which engages in recognising, rewarding and encouraging those responsible for creating value for the society in science, technology and innovation domain.