Chamath Palihapitiya@chamath
Four years ago, I invested ~$40M and got involved helping build a small publicly listed company in Canada called Perimeter Medical.
Why?
They were trying to build an AI enabled device to help doctors do cancer surgeries better: take a tumor out from a patient, analyze it with AI while still in the surgical theater and tell with precision if all the cancer was taken out. If yes, close the patient up. If not, go back and get all the cancer.
Well, we got FDA approval today!!
Our product, Claire, became the FIRST FDA-approved AI-enabled imaging device for breast cancer surgery. We also got Breakthrough Designation.
Currently, ~20% of women face repeat surgeries because surgeons "didn't get it all". What’s even worse is that they typically don’t find out for 10 days after the surgery until pathology has reviewed the resected tumor. That is 10 days of waiting and worrying for patients.
Claire’s real-time AI + OCT tech delivers 10x the resolution of standard X-rays, identifying suspicious tissue during a surgery so surgeons can act immediately.
Claire is now a regulated tool that sits in the workflow, in real time, while a surgeon is operating. It is just the start for what this platform can do for cancer care.
We will first focus on ~300,000 breast cancer surgeries per year in the U.S., and then grow into other solid tumors over time.
From a systems perspective, it’s also what “real AI” looks like: invisible to the patient, indispensable to the clinician, and measured in fewer surgeries and better treatment experience .
Congratulations to @adrianvmendes and the @perimetermed team.
