A project led by Rice University’s Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies aimed at making breast cancer diagnosis faster and more accessible in rural and medically underserved communities across Texas has received support from the Hill Prizes program .
Rebecca Richards-Kortum , the Malcolm Gillis University Professor and co-director of Rice360, received the ad hoc grant to advance Access BreastDX, a low-cost, artificial intelligence-enabled system designed to help health care providers evaluate breast tissue samples at the point of care. Rice’s chair of electrical and computer engineering, Ashok Veeraraghavan , and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Lei Huo and Ana Refinetti are working with Richards-Kortum on the project.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide and remains the second-leading cause of cancer death among women in Texas. While early detection can dramatically improve outcomes, women in rural communities continue to face higher mortality rates than those in large metropolitan areas. Richards-Kortum’s project aims to close this persistent gap in care by addressing barriers that can make timely screening and diagnosis difficult, including long travel distances, limited access to specialists and the continued closure of rural hospitals.
Access BreastDX is designed to shorten the path from an abnormal breast screening to a diagnosis, potentially allowing patients to receive results during the same visit rather than waiting days or weeks for samples to be processed and evaluated elsewhere.
“Too often, where a patient lives determines how quickly she can access the diagnostic care she needs,” Richards-Kortum said. “Our goal is to develop technology that brings high-quality breast cancer diagnostics closer to the patient, particularly in communities where access to pathology services is limited.”
At the center of the system is an AI-enabled digital microscope expected to cost less than $5,000. It can quickly scan breast cell and tissue samples at very high resolution, provide an automated assessment and send digital images to pathologists for remote review. A low-cost optical component gives the microscope a much greater depth of field than conventional equipment, allowing it to capture clear images with less processing.
The system also includes simple tools to prepare and stain samples collected through fine needle aspiration or core needle biopsy, so they can be imaged immediately. AI will help determine whether a sample is adequate for diagnosis and assist with interpretation.
Together, these technologies could bring capabilities normally found in specialized pathology labs closer to patients, helping rural clinics deliver faster results while still connecting with specialists when needed.
Richards-Kortum and her team will use the new funding to optimize these components of Access BreastDX and conduct translational studies evaluating the system for use in rural clinics and mobile mammography programs.
The project is one of six Texas research efforts receiving a combined $1 million in additional 2026 funding from TAMEST — the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology — and Lyda Hill Philanthropies. These grants were awarded to highly competitive proposals from the 2026 Hill Prizes applicant pool that were not selected for one of the program’s seven primary prizes but were identified as having significant potential for real-world impact.
The Hill Prizes annually provide $3.5 million ($500,000 in each of seven categories) to support breakthrough research and innovation in Texas. The additional discretionary funding from Lyda Hill Philanthropies brings the program’s total 2026 investment to $4.5 million.
“The Hill Prizes are about fueling bold, transformational paths in research and innovation,” said David E. Daniel, chair of the Hill Prizes committee, in a statement announcing the awards. “Through this generous additional funding from Lyda Hill Philanthropies, we are able to extend the reach of the Hill Prizes program, ensuring that more of Texas’ most pioneering researchers receive the capital needed to translate ambitious ideas into tangible solutions.”
For Richards-Kortum’s team, that translation could ultimately mean bringing capabilities once confined to sophisticated pathology laboratories into clinics serving patients far from major medical centers.