Dotplot

Dotplot is a MedTech company developing an at-home breast health monitoring tool designed to help women perform self-checks with confidence and facilitate the early detection of breast cancer. Founded in 2022 by Shefali Bohra and Debra Babalola, graduates of Innovation Design Engineering from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, the company aims to address the common confusion and fear surrounding breast self-examinations. The inspiration for Dotplot came from co-founder Shefali Bohra's personal experience of finding a lump, which highlighted the lack of at-home tools to help women monitor their breast health routinely.

The core of Dotplot's business is its physical product, a handheld device that connects to a companion mobile application. This system is designed for individual female consumers who want to take a proactive role in their health. The business model will likely be direct-to-consumer sales of the hardware device, potentially supplemented by a subscription for the app's tracking and analysis features. The device uses a proprietary sensing technology to emit sound signals and record the tissue composition at multiple points on the torso. The app guides the user through the process, creating a personalized map of their chest based on their bra size and breast shape. This allows for a structured and consistent monthly self-check.

Dotplot's service provides a month-over-month comparison of breast tissue readings, flagging any abnormalities or changes from the user's baseline. If a suspicious change is detected, the user is advised to consult a healthcare professional. The system does not diagnose cancer but serves as an early warning tool by identifying changes that warrant medical investigation. The technical prototype has been able to detect lumps up to 15mm deep in breast surrogates. The company has received multiple grants and was named New Startup of the Year by Cancer Research Horizons in March 2024. Dotplot is planning for its first clinical trial in 2025 and aims to explore how the data reports can be integrated into the primary care pathway to assist GPs in making more informed referral decisions.

Keywords: breast health, MedTech, FemTech, at-home monitoring, cancer detection, self-check, medical device, digital health, tissue monitoring, women's health, health technology, early detection, personalized health, handheld device, mobile health app, sensing technology, Imperial College startup, Royal College of Art startup, James Dyson Award, Cancer Research UK