Research connection and clinical validation: the role of PACS at the CRLCC in Rouen.

The Centre Henri Becquerel in Rouen and the QuantIF laboratory at the University of Rouen share a special link, which was developed by pooling key resources such as Professor Pierre Vera and his team. However, connections between the developments made in a research laboratory and large-scale clinical validation has always proven relatively complex to set up: how to validate an algorithm rapidly in a clinical environment on a substantial number of patients, while restricting the required physician time?

PACS "plug-ins"

As a standard feature, Telemis includes a plug-in module, which enables research groups to add certain functionalities to the image viewer via three APIs (Application Program Interfaces). The QuantIF laboratory has already developed half a dozen plug-ins. "Our latest achievement consists of measuring body mass and body fat using a scanner, enabling haematologists to better estimate the therapeutic response to chemotherapy" explains Romain Modzelewski, IT specialist at the Rouen regional cancer centre, who is assigned to the QuantIF laboratory. "We can progress from a few validated trial cases to a potential use for all patients".

Just a click away...

Thus, for a physician, the validation of a new algorithm for an imaging study is as simple as clicking on the plug-in icon in the Telemis interface. Instead of physicians having to travel to the research centres, research centres become integrated in the everyday work of physicians.

02/08/2013