05-05-2025
Bentonville West team wins $100K for AI-powered oral cancer detection app
CENTERTON, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Three students from Bentonville West High School are being recognized on the national stage for transforming a smartphone into a potential life-saving device — one that could help detect cancer with just a photo.
The team was named the National Winner of the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition, securing a $100,000 prize package for their innovation.
On April 28, the winning team traveled to Washington, D.C., to present their AI-powered mobile app, which detects oral cancer from a simple image of a user's mouth via smartphone, to a panel of judges.
The team earned an additional $10,000 as the Employee Choice Winner, a special distinction voted on by Samsung employees from the 10 national finalists.
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'Our main inspiration came from our roots in India,' said Veera Unnam, junior at Bentonville West. 'We saw a lot of close family friends struggling with diagnoses for different types of diseases, specifically oral cancer. We've had some close scares with people we know. When we saw that there isn't much research on it, we decided to take it into our own hands and see what we can do.'
Oral cancer causes 170,000 deaths annually, according to a news release.
The students aim to make oral cancer detection more affordable and accessible through self-screening. With their competition success, the Bentonville West team plans further data testing and hopes to pitch the app to medical professionals nationwide.
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