Centrale Nantes takes a stake in HERA-MI

Hera-MI's ambition is to make diagnostic radiology for cancer quicker and more reliable for better patient care. To do so, Hera-Mi has developed Breast-SlimView, a patented clinical decision support solution for 2D/3D mammography. Breast-SlimView offers an innovative and disruptive solution whereby only relevant information is displayed. Hera-MI thus helps radiologists to refocus on their core function: analysing potentially suspicious lesions.

In 2018, Hera-MI finalized the prototype of the Breast-SlimView software, in time to present it at the annual congress of the Journées Françaises de Radiologie in Paris. This presentation, on its partner Fujifilm's stand, gave Hera-MI the opportunity to promote its decision support software, based on Artificial Intelligence, to radiologists. The congress resulted in pre-orders of the software for installation at the beginning of 2020.

The Breast-SlimView software incorporates the negativation algorithm, which means that normal areas are effectively removed from a mammography examination, leaving only potentially suspicious areas. Negativation is a process for which a patent was filed in 2018 in France.

On the funding side, Hera-MI has received significant support from a number of organisations, such as the Pays de la Loire Region (StartWest prize and PIA3 phase I call for projects). This resulted in a €185,000 grant from BPIfrance. The start-up also raised €200,000 in seed capital and Centrale Nantes, via Centrale Innovation, Audencia and Ouest Angels have all taken a stake in the company. 

Published on February 7, 2020 Updated on November 24, 2020