Cervivai innovation, a collaborative work of students from Universitas Indonesia (UI) and Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), won the Young Innovators Award at the 2024 World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) in Doha, Qatar. The innovation utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to support more comfortable and effective cervical cancer screening.
The Cervivai team consists of UI Faculty of Medicine alumni, dr. Mutiara Auliya Firdausy; FKUI student, Sandra Princessa; and UI Faculty of Engineering (FT) student, Karmila Putri M. Three students from ITB in the team are Ayya Azzahra, Nur Mutmainna Rahim, and Ines Siti Sarah. The innovation they have created was titled “Cervivai: AI Enhanced Cervical Cancer Detection Speculum with VIA Testing,” which was carried out under the guidance of teaching staff from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, FKUI-RSCM, Prof. Dr. dr. Junita Indarti, Sp.OG(K).
According to dr. Mutiara, Cervivai development began in January 2024 with a focus on improving the accuracy of AI-based diagnosis and developing a speculum model. The biggest challenge they faced was collecting the amount of data needed to create AI to have high sensitivity and specificity. “Regarding this, the team is still working to improve the accuracy of predictions,” said dr. Mutiara.
She further said that Cervivai is an innovation in cervical cancer screening using a silicone speculum integrated with an AI-based camera. This technology is able to predict the severity of cervical cancer based on the results of the IVA (Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid) examination. Dr. Mutiara and the team hope that this innovation can provide a more comfortable, accurate, and easily accessible alternative for women to routinely screen for cervical cancer.
“Alhamdulillah, currently Cervivai research is in the stage of improving the accuracy of AI technology diagnosis and developing a speculum model. The plan for the future is that Cervivai will start a pilot project in mid-2025. We hope that this innovation can be implemented in the national cervical cancer screening program in Indonesia and other countries with high cervical cancer mortality rates. In addition, we want to increase the coverage of national screening and provide a more comfortable experience for women to undergo routine check-ups,” said dr. Mutiara.
Meanwhile, Sandra Princessa explained that the background to the development of this innovation was driven by the fact that the coverage of cervical cancer screening in Indonesia is still low, even though the recommendation to do cervical cancer screening should be done routinely every three years. “Women are afraid to do cervical cancer screening because the method involves the activity of inserting a metal or plastic speculum which causes pain and discomfort. Therefore, we developed a silicone speculum to make women more comfortable doing routine cervical cancer screening,” said Sandra Princessa.
Dean of FKUI Prof. Dr. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, Sp.PD-KGEH., MMB., said, “The achievement of the Cervivai team at the WISH 2024 event is not only a source of pride for FKUI, but also shows the strength of multidisciplinary collaboration in creating innovative solutions in the health sector. We greatly appreciate the extraordinary collaboration between students from various fields such as medicine, engineering, and business. Thank you also to Prof. Dr. dr. Junita Indarti, Sp.OG(K), who has guided this team with full dedication. Hopefully, this innovation can have a positive impact on women’s health, both in Indonesia and globally.”
WISH is an annual health science conference organized by the Qatar Foundation and the Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council (QRDI). This year, which was held on Thursday, November 14, was the 7th WISH with the theme “Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity, and Resilience”. Of the thousands of proposals received, only seven teams from various countries succeeded in winning awards in the Young Innovators Award category. Apart from Indonesia, the other teams came from Singapore, Italy, India, Qatar, Lebanon, and England.
