World's First Use of CAD as Primary Reader in Ground-Breaking Colon Cancer Screening Project

Approximately 26,000 residents within Italy's Piedmont region will be involved in Protèus, the first program in the world to use computer-aided detection (CAD) to screen patients for colon cancer, as part of the Italian province's cancer prevention efforts.

The program is being launched in Turin, Italy, and is sponsored by the region of Piedmont, im3D-Medical Imaging Lab (Turin, Italy), the University of Turin (Interdepartmental Center for Molecular Biotechnology and the department of medical surgery disciplines-- radiology section), CPO (Center for Epidemiology and Oncology Prevention; Piedmont, Italy), and CIS Piedmont. The project allocates EUR 4.7 million over two years to test the innovative diagnostic methodology, CAD, as a primary screening protocol and emphasizes the use of technologic innovation applied to prevention.

Protéus features CAD-Colon, a fast, intuitive and extremely accurate diagnostic system developed as the result of over six years of interdisciplinary medical and scientific research conducted by im3D--Medical Imaging Lab, together with its clinical and scientific partners, which include IRCC-Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (Candiolo, Italy). The experimental screening project forges a strong collaboration between diagnostic imaging for oncology and chemistry, represented by im3D and the University of Turin's Interdepartmental Center for Molecular Biotechnology, through which the parties intend to advance oncology research and prevention of the pathology.

The experiment is expected to validate the high diagnostic performance levels already obtained within preliminary studies using CAD-COLON, which have primarily addressed its sensitivity and specificity. Verification of the methodology means that it can then be applied to large-scale screening projects as well as to other pathologies. In fact, the project calls for the construction of a "Telediagnosis Center for Prevention,” which will centralize the collection and aggregation of data, optimize costs, and play an enormous role in leveraging expertise and data exchange for research purposes.

Specific objectives of the project include to test an innovative new prevention methodology that is less invasive and highly precise; to increase the effectiveness of colon cancer prevention, the second highest cancer-related cause of death worldwide, by increasing the percentage of the population willing to submit to a "more friendly” exam; to create value and know-how both in terms of the utilization of CAD technology for cancer screening, and the use of telediagnosis for a more rapid and effective diagnostic process; to create a framework for the construction of an "Center for Experimentation of New Technologies for the Medical Sector,” with the aim to become a point of reference both nationally and internationally; and lastly to disseminate scientific, medical, and technologic knowledge to help the fight against cancer.

im3D is a research center that collaborates closely with medical and clinical specialists to develop advanced medical imaging solutions for the early detection and prevention of cancer pathologies.

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im3D-Medical Imaging Lab