Chennai-based Aarthi Scans and Labs, a leading provider of radiology and pathology diagnostic services, has announced plans to invest over ₹300 crore to expand both geographically and vertically. The company aims to strengthen its presence in Tier 1 cities and launch a new wellness-focused vertical, ‘Vital Insights’, dedicated to assessing and enhancing physical fitness and longevity.
Dr. G Arun Kumar, Chief Radiologist, Director, and son of Aarthi Scans’ founder V Govindrajan, said,
“By the year-end, we are planning to open our centre in Lucknow, and our new vertical Vital Insights is under research stage in Vadapalani. The Vital Insights clinic will check the strength of muscle, body mass, etc. We want to provide services to the common man that an Olympic athlete gets at a cheaper cost. A lot of research and new methods are evolving. The investment in the new verticals will be ₹10–20 crore over the period of two years. Rest of the amount will be for our geographical expansion.”
The company’s immediate expansion targets include Mumbai and Lucknow, chosen for their dense populations and strong potential for its affordable, direct-to-consumer model.
Dr. Arun Kumar added,
“Our business model is direct to a customer. Our prices are very low. In hospitals, they charge nearly ₹15,000 for an MRI scan, private diagnostic centres charge ₹7,000, but we charge somewhere between ₹3,000 and ₹4,000. Lucknow and Mumbai are one of the most populated cities. This business model works mainly in Tier 1 cities, so it is a logical step to go to cities like Mumbai and Lucknow.”
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Each of these cities may accommodate 8–10 diagnostic centres, furthering Aarthi Scans’ mission to make quality diagnostics affordable for the upper and lower middle-class segments.
Discussing the capital expenditure strategy, Dr. Prasannaa Vignesh, Director and Chief Radiologist, explained,
“The company buys assets such as CT and MRI scan machines in bulk as it helps in reducing the input cost. For setting up a diagnostic centre, the cost is between ₹8–10 crore, including input cost on machines and its maintenance.”
Aarthi Scans follows a deferred payment cycle, clearing payables within 10–11 months of asset purchase.
The company is also embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance accuracy and efficiency in diagnostics. Dr. Arun Kumar noted,
“At present, all our chest X-rays go through AI preliminary reading and then sent to a radiologist. When AI and radiologist work together, the misfindings are less, cost comes down and turnaround time increases. We are using LLM-based models for proofreading purposes and also investing in developing our own LLM-based AI models for proofreading and critical report reading. Of these, one is in the pilot phase.”
The company has allocated around ₹10 lakh for AI research and partnered with a Chennai-based IT company to develop these models, marking a strategic step towards integrating advanced AI solutions in medical diagnostics.