Researchers from among others the University of Twente have received a subsidy of 1,5 million euro’s to develop a screening process for three frequently occurring diseases: lung cancer, emphysema and cardiovascular diseases. For this project, the researchers from the UT work together with researchers from the Center for Medical Imaging (CMI) of the University Medical Center Groningen and Medical Delta.
Big-3
The three diseases cause the highest mortality rate, morbidity and economic burden from health in the western world. Because of this they are also known as the Big-3. Goal of the research project, called B3CARE, is to notice these diseases in an earlier stage through CT-scans for biomarkers. UT-researcher Ferdi van der Heijden is pleased with the project: ‘The UT will contribute to this project by developing machine-learning algorithms for biomarker-detection. We will also develop training courses for the radiologists that will use our techniques, and we will measure the effectiveness of several ways of screening for these diseases’. Other UT-researchers involved in this project are Raymond Veldhuis, Kees Slump and Maarten IJzerman.
Subsidy
The subsidy from ZonMW is part of the IMDI (Innovative Medical Device Initiative) programme; this programme aims to promote the clinical implementation and application of new medical technologies. B3CARE expands on other large-scale projects of the CMI in Groningen in wich CT-scans of heart and lungs are conducted. According to ZonMW, the impact of early detection of these diseases with biomarkers is high. ZonMW is very positive about the multidisciplinary composition and the expertise of the research team.
Six companies
In B3CARE a multidisciplinary team works together with experts in radiology, lung- and heart disease, artificial intelligence, cost-benefit analysis and education. Six (inter)national companies in imaging, image analysis, machine learning and deep learning are strongly involved with the project. The end goal of B3CARE is to bring integrated CT-screening closer to implementation, for prevention and early treatment of the Big-3 diseases.
