MONOBREAST | Low-dose breast CT with monochromatic x-ray sources

Summary
Although breast cancer screening and improvements in treatment have reduced breast cancer mortality by 30%, this disease still kills over 600,000 women yearly worldwide. To further reduce its morbidity and mortality, new and improved imaging modalities that improve the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer are needed.
Over the last two decades, changes in x-ray detector technology have revolutionized x-ray-based breast imaging. Among other developments, new digital detectors made feasible the ERC Consolidator project BREAST4D during which a new imaging modality, dynamic contrast enhanced dedicated breast computed tomography (4D DCE-BCT) is being developed to personalize treatment of breast cancer.
However, x-ray source technology has remained essentially unchanged for the last 100 years. The continued use of the x-ray tube as the source of x rays restricts the reduction in dose and the quantitative accuracy achievable with advances in the rest of the system. Very recently, however, a new monochromatic x-ray source has been developed that provides the necessary flux, x-ray energy, field of view, and portability, to be used in x-ray breast imaging devices.
In MONOBREAST, the capabilities, applicability, and innovativeness of BREAST4D will be extended by introducing these monochromatic x-ray sources to breast CT imaging and combining them with the advanced image reconstruction method developed during BREAST4D. Resulting in a dose reduction of at least two thirds, such a monochromatic breast CT system will be applicable to every stage in the breast cancer chain, from screening with non-contrast BCT at doses equivalent to those of current screening with digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis, to static CE-BCT for diagnosis and the originally planned 4D DCE-BCT for treatment personalization. In addition, these new sources will not only result in substantially lower doses, but also in substantially higher accuracy with lower algorithmic complexity.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101069166
Start date: 01-09-2023
End date: 28-02-2025
Total budget - Public funding: - 150 000,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Although breast cancer screening and improvements in treatment have reduced breast cancer mortality by 30%, this disease still kills over 600,000 women yearly worldwide. To further reduce its morbidity and mortality, new and improved imaging modalities that improve the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer are needed.
Over the last two decades, changes in x-ray detector technology have revolutionized x-ray-based breast imaging. Among other developments, new digital detectors made feasible the ERC Consolidator project BREAST4D during which a new imaging modality, dynamic contrast enhanced dedicated breast computed tomography (4D DCE-BCT) is being developed to personalize treatment of breast cancer.
However, x-ray source technology has remained essentially unchanged for the last 100 years. The continued use of the x-ray tube as the source of x rays restricts the reduction in dose and the quantitative accuracy achievable with advances in the rest of the system. Very recently, however, a new monochromatic x-ray source has been developed that provides the necessary flux, x-ray energy, field of view, and portability, to be used in x-ray breast imaging devices.
In MONOBREAST, the capabilities, applicability, and innovativeness of BREAST4D will be extended by introducing these monochromatic x-ray sources to breast CT imaging and combining them with the advanced image reconstruction method developed during BREAST4D. Resulting in a dose reduction of at least two thirds, such a monochromatic breast CT system will be applicable to every stage in the breast cancer chain, from screening with non-contrast BCT at doses equivalent to those of current screening with digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis, to static CE-BCT for diagnosis and the originally planned 4D DCE-BCT for treatment personalization. In addition, these new sources will not only result in substantially lower doses, but also in substantially higher accuracy with lower algorithmic complexity.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

ERC-2022-POC1

Update Date

31-07-2023
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Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.1 European Research Council (ERC)
HORIZON.1.1.0 Cross-cutting call topics
ERC-2022-POC1 ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS1
HORIZON.1.1.1 Frontier science
ERC-2022-POC1 ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS1