Project Description

The aim of this project is the development of automated image processing functions to facilitate constancy control in radiology.

The procedure of obtaining radiological images is complex and technically difficult. Image quality is very important if you want good diagnostic results. This project will support the users of radiological devices to control their modalities. It should also increase user awareness of the importance of image quality.

To assess image quality, two different kind of tests are carried out: initial acceptance tests and regular tests. Acceptance tests are done before the system is taken in production. These tests are done by the manufacturer to ensure and to demonstrate the performance of the system. These tests are very time consuming and require special and rather expensive equipment. Based on the measured data, regular quality control tests are scheduled. These test are much easier to run and are normally done by the clinical staff. It should be noted that these regular tests can only show changes in the performance of a device. In the scope of this project, we will focus on these regular quality control tests carried out by the clinical staff itself.

A software system to assess the image quality of the supported modalities as easily and as quickly as possible, will be developed. This software will come with a guide of best practice for each modality to:

1. Make the users understand the importance of these tests
2. Train the users to perform these regular tests

To achieve this goal, we will first develop a framework, that will include the functions required by all the software modules, i.e. easy installation, automatic software update, database connectivity, image processing functions, etc. The second step consists in developing the software module and the corresponding guide of best practice for each supported modality. In the scope of this project ti is planed to support digital planar x-rays, digital mammography, CT, nuclear medicine SPECT cameras and MRI scanners.

The framework should be designed so that additional modalities can be easily added. An additional statistical module, supporting the evaluation of the gathered data, should help the users to identify possible degradations in image quality.

This system should be an easy to use solution for the clinical staff to support their daily work. It should help them to fulfill the new guidelines and laws, that will soon enter the hospital sector. Furthermore, it will also give us the possibility to acquire competences in this field.

Project Partners The project work will be shared between the project partners:

• Entente des Hôpitaux Luxembourgeois (EHL),
• Ministère de la Santé (MdS),
• Centre de Recherche Henri Tudor (Tudor)
• Brüderkrankenhaus Trier (BK-Trier).

With these partners we have the required know how and support to produce a successful solution for the practical user. Other clinical partners represented by the EHL will provide support by testing and evaluating the resulting software and guides.

Another result of the project should be a scientific publication. The project partners should decide at a later stage in the project, which topic is the best one for publication.

The project idea is based on a software developed at the Brüderkrankenhaus Trier. The existing solution will be our base.