OPTIMAM1

"Optimisation of breast cancer detection using digital X-ray technology 1"


Research Objectives:

To optimise the adoption of new X-ray technology for detecting breast cancers and thereby to improve the early detection of breast cancers in the NHS Screening Programme. This is being done by measuring the impact of variations in the physical performance of imaging systems on cancer detection. Real and simulated images of cancers are presented to clinical staff in controlled experiments (observer studies). Models based on physical measurements on imaging systems are used to simulate breast images currently for 2D mammography and later for 3D mammography. The appearance of cancers in these images will also be simulated in order to measure the performance of radiologists and computer aided detection systems in detecting cancers when different systems, radiation doses, beam qualities, and image processing are employed.

Start Date: 1st December 2008
Duration: 5 years
Status: Completed
Funding:

OPTIMAM was funded through a £2.5m five year programme grant from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with contributions from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Department of Health (DH).

Read more about Cancer Research UK's involvement with OPTIMAM1 here.

NCCPM Role: The project was led by Professor Young at NCCPM