Photoacoustic mammogarphy beyond the horizon
Horizon 2020 ICT-29-2016, Photonics KET 2016, Research and Innovation Action RIA
Every year 1.4 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide, and about 0.5 million women die from the disease. Early detection and accurate diagnosis are crucial for optimizing survival chances, and imaging technologies play a major role in this process. Standard techniques for screening and diagnosis (X-ray, ultrasound, image-guided needle biopsy) suffer from limited accuracy and/ or other shortcomings. This results in incorrect decision making regarding the course of action, leading to under-treatment or over-aggressive treatment.
To meet the need for an imaging technique that can disrupt the current paradigm, the PAMMOTH consortium has come together with the objective to develop, validate and begin exploitation of a dedicated breast imaging device for a significant impact in breast cancer diagnosis. This system will combine 3D photoacoustic mammography and ultrasound, offering spectroscopic (molecular) specificity with high spatial resolution, resulting in improved diagnostic accuracy at affordable cost without the carcinogenic potential or patient discomfort of conventional techniques.
To achieve this goal, PAMMOTH brings together leading research groups and industrial partners with their unique expertise in R&D:
University of Twente, NL (coordinator)
PA Imaging Holding BV, NL
Medisch Spectrum Twente, NL
University College London, UCL
University of Bern, CH
University Brno, CZ
Imasonic SAS, FR
EKSPLA, LT
tp21 GmbH, DE
