Cancer incidence is projected to increase by up to 25 percent over the next decade, but the number of trained radiologists will not increase at the same rate.

Better Medicine's AI-based app detects cancer cells in a CT scan image of a patient's lung and reduces the time it takes for specialists to reach a diagnosis.

"It is as if the app gives the doctor a second pair of eyes," the company's CEO Priit Salumaa, explained.

Dmytro Fishman, a researcher at the University of Tartu's Institute of Computer Science, is one of the company's co-founders, which is why Better Medicine has already conducted its research and development (R&D) in close collaboration with the University of Tartu.

Salumaa said that continuing the cooperation through the university's investment company was a logical choice: "We saw UniTartu Ventures as a good opportunity for the university to become our investor, and as a start-up, involving investors is critical for us as well."

Mart Maasik, investment director of UniTartu Ventures, said that the agreement will enhance existing cooperation even more. "Over the next two years, the university will transfer the intellectual property generated through R&D to Better Medicine, and the university will, in turn, receive a stake in the company," Maasik said.

While UniTartu Ventures' portfolio has included university spin-offs, Better Medicine is the first company in which the university has acquired a stake through a long-term R&D collaboration.

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