ASSURE Research Project Will Use Volpara to Help Build a Model of Breast Cancer Risk and the Risk of Missing Cancers
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, January 21, 2013 – Matakina International is proud to announce the Volpara objective breast density measurement software will be used in the European Union (EU) collaborative Adapting Breast Cancer Screening Strategy Using Personalised Risk Estimation (ASSURE) research project.
The company will showcase its role in the ASSURE research project as well as the use of Volpara in a number of large clinical trials and national breast cancer screening programs across Europe at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) meeting, March 7–11, 2013. (ECR 2013 Booth: Expo E 560.)
ASSURE project researchers have recognised that the one-size-fits all approach for breast cancer screening offers little benefit to some women, particularly those with dense breasts where mammograms often fail to show signs of early cancer. The ASSURE project will use a database of 80,000 screening mammograms and associated risk profiles to build a model of breast cancer risk and the risk of missing cancers. The aim is to develop technology to provide better screening options for intermediate and high risk women, such as adjunctive ultrasound or MRI imaging, based on personalised risk factors.
“In this model, breast density plays a key role, as one of the largest known risk factors and the factor making mammograms ineffective for some women. Automated, objective density assessment is critical for this project and Matakina reseachers have a good track-record for developing these. I have already been using Volpara in a large, randomized screening trial because of its robust clinical record,” said Dr Carla van Gils from University Medical Centre Utrecht, a partner in the project.
Members of ASSURE also includes Michiel Kallenberg and Nico Karssemeijer of Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, who presented a paper at RSNA 2012 about the association between automated, volumetric measures of breast density and diagnostic outcome of mammography screening examinations. They assessed exams from 33,029 women in the Dutch Breast Screening Program and found that the risk for breast cancer (before being adjusted for BMI) is up to 3.58 times in dense breasts compared to non-dense, or “fatty” breasts. “We are happy to use Volpara again to give us fast, reliable breast density measurements, and to work with Matakina in the project to further develop their technology” said Prof Karssemeijer, who is coordinator of ASSURE Project.
ASSURE members:
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre
- Mevis Medical Solutions AG
- Biomediq A/S
- Mediri GmbH
- Fraunhofer MEVIS
- University of Manchester
- University of Girona
- University Medical Centre Utrecht
- Jules Bordet Institute, Brussels
Volpara generates automatic, objective density measurements and is cleared by the FDA, HealthCanada, the TGA and is CE marked. It is in use at sites across the globe helping radiologists assess breast density more objectively and helping them better consider who might benefit from additional screening. “We are very pleased that the ASSURE researchers have selected to use Volpara, which measures breast density within seconds and will give the researchers objective, reproducible measurements for their modelling and we look forward to developing the technology to further help women across Europe,” says Ralph Highnam, PhD, Matakina CEO.
About Matakina
Founded to enable radiologists to give women the most accurate information possible regarding their breast health, Matakina International, Limited is the wholly owned sales and marketing arm of Matakina Technology Limited of New Zealand. Volpara’s founders and Board of Directors includes John Hood, PhD, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, UK; Ralph Highnam, PhD, former CEO of Mirada Solutions, one of the University of Oxford’s most successful spin-outs of recent times and co-author of the seminal book Mammographic Image Analysis; and Professor Sir Michael Brady, a serial entrepreneur who recently retired from the University of Oxford where he was Professor of Information Technology for 25 years.
