-
Natural sciences
- Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified
-
Medical and health sciences
- Diagnostic radiology
- Medical imaging and therapy not elsewhere classified
- Quality assurance
Lung cancer causes a large mortality, worldwide and in Flanders,
with 3822 cases in 2016. The only technique with proven mortality
reduction is lung cancer screening (LKS) with CT scans. In 2020, a
mortality reduction of 26% (men) and 41% (women) was measured in
the Dutch-Belgian "NELSON" study. The Flemish 'Task Force Lung
Cancer Screening' therefore brings together experts to design and
subsequently support an LKS program for population groups where
this improvement can be continued. All (expected) questions from the
responsible Flemish government must be answered. With this
project, radiologists and physicists from the Task Force want to find
adequate answers to the following questions: what is the radiation
risk associated with the CT scans? Can imaging be optimized for
even lower X-ray doses? How are computer algorithms for detecting
and measuring cancers performing?
The greatest challenge is to develop new test methods in a world
with rapidly changing technology - e.g. artificial intelligence. Three
university groups will combine their expertise with (1) risk
assessment, (2) evaluation of clinical image quality and (3)
computer-aided detection and characterization of cancer. All new
techniques and test criteria will be bundled in a unique test protocol
to assess and optimize the quality of each CT protocol or computer
algorithm for LKS.