5C Network: AI-driven radiology transforming healthcare in India | Fusion - WeRIndia

5C Network began with a simple yet urgent problem: long diagnostic delays in India.

When co-founder Syed Ahmed waited 48 hours for an MRI report in a Bangalore hospital, the impact of scarce radiologists became personal.

Co-founder Kalyan Sivasailam noticed that most AI solutions in healthcare were hyped but failed to make a tangible difference.

Together, they envisioned a platform where AI complements, rather than replaces, radiologists, giving birth to 5C.

India faces a severe radiology gap, with only one radiologist per 100,000 people. With over 300 million scans performed annually, delays and errors are inevitable, especially in smaller towns.

Conventional AI tools often focus narrowly on single diseases or screening, failing to integrate into clinical workflows.

5C approached the problem differently, designing a full-stack, AI-native platform that combines image interpretation, clinical context, workflow optimisation, and quality control. The system ensures timely and accurate diagnoses while scaling across hospitals of all sizes.

At the core of 5C’s innovation is Bionic, an AI co-pilot that assists radiologists by interpreting images alongside patient history using Vision-Language Models (VLMs), flagging errors or contradictions, generating structured draft reports, and triaging urgent cases.

Importantly, every report is reviewed and signed off by certified radiologists, creating a human-in-the-loop model that balances safety with speed. With over 15 million scans processed to date, the system continues to learn and improve.

5C operates through three verticals: the FAIR Lab for AI research, the Applied AI Team for production-ready tools, and the Go-To-Market Team for deployment across hospitals.

This research-to-reality pipeline ensures continuous improvement while delivering impact. The platform has reached over 2,000 hospitals in 300+ cities, from major metros to rural districts like Lingasugur in Karnataka, where idle CT scanners are now actively saving lives.

Hospitals benefit from a scalable, capital-efficient model: they pay per inference and gain 24×7 access to top-tier radiology without needing on-site experts.

Turnaround guarantees, quality assurance, and optional SaaS tools enhance value. The platform has already expedited over 75,000 emergency cases and reduced patient wait times by more than three million hours.

Despite its rapid 70–80% annual growth, 5C faces challenges typical of healthcare AI: integrating with diverse hospital systems, ensuring data quality, and maintaining trust among clinicians.

However, its human-centred approach, robust AI infrastructure, and real-world clinical validation have positioned 5C as a transformative force in India’s radiology ecosystem.

By combining technology, scale, and empathy, 5C Network is not just accelerating diagnostics; it is empowering radiologists and ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare across India.

Image Credit: 5C Network Website Screenshot

Image Reference: https://www.5cnetwork.com/