In 2009, Benoit Le Franc envisioned a system that could digitize the human eye. At that time, he was in charge of a chemotherapy unit when a death occurred in the day hospital. Subsequent investigations revealed that an allergy was the cause. However, the incident raised questions and panic, leading the young pharmacist to realize that the safety surrounding chemotherapy preparation was insufficient, “that it remains far too artisanal,” he notes.
He then developed a technology with the University of La Rochelle that would replace the human eye with artificial intelligence, using computer image processing as it was called back then, Eurekam. If the preparer makes mistakes in volumes or vials, the system alerts them, allowing for corrections.
From a single center in Charente-Maritime in 2012, Eurekam now counts 110 centers, becoming the leading chemotherapy control system in France and Europe.
A tool that was quickly embraced as fostering a positive culture around error by the preparation teams, enhancing their security. "We are much more at ease,” explains Benoit Le Franc. “Some tell us they sleep better at night. They no longer replay the preparation process in their minds, wondering if they did it right. In short, it’s a true tool for quality of life at work, for serenity, simple and that integrates really well into the pharmacy preparers' profession, designed around their actions, meeting a genuine need.”
