Singapore is a key hub for manufacturing a range of advanced medical technologies for global markets, including implanted pacemakers, contact lenses, and mammography equipment. The medical devices market of Singapore is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate(CAGR) of 5.2% from $2.6 billion in 2016 to $3.5 billion in 2022, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, ‘Singapore Healthcare (Pharma and Medical Devices) Market Analysis, Regulatory, Reimbursement and Competitive Landscape,’ reveals that Singapore presents great opportunities for the adoption of technology in healthcare and is open for investments.

Recently, Singapore-based digital health AI company FathomX has successfully raised a pre-series A funding of $2.24 million to complete the multi-center validation study of its flagship software as a medical device (SaMD) FxMammo across eight regions in the Asia-Pacific.

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting women across the globe. Mammography, though unpleasant, painful, and time taking remains the most effective imaging modality for breast cancer. However, these procedures may not always provide accurate results as they sometimes lead to false positives- or false negatives resulting in overtreatment or no treatment.

FathomX claims FxMammo has several clinically validated features, specifically a reduction in false positives and interval cancers. Moreover, it also has a strong efficacy in detecting cancer in dense breasts among Asian women with higher accuracy as compared to other technologies in the market. The funding is expected to broaden partnership opportunities and also accelerate the development and commercialization of the product.

Ayshi Ganguly, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “With the help of FxMammo, FathomX  aims to increase the accuracy of the mammography procedures and shorten diagnosis time allowing for right and timely management of the disease.”

The company also received funding from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Center, National Health Innovation Center, Enterprise Singapore, and the National University of Singapore as a part of the Innovation to Startup funding program for the development of AI-based imaging solutions for breast cancer diagnosis.

Ganguly concludes: “Increased investments and initiatives from the public and private sectors will lead to the development of better products that will reduce the complications of mammography thereby resulting in more number of women going for mammography and protecting themselves from the life-threatening disease.”