SPREAD: Software performance and reproducibility in Emphysema assessment: demonstration

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 00.0565

Key words (German)

Verlauf des Emphysems; Computertomographie; Alfa-1-Antitrypsin-Mangel; Software; Reproduzierbarkeit; Life Sciences; Medicine; Health; Scientific Research

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: QLG1-CT-2000-01752

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.1.8 Generic R&D activities

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Coordinator: University Medical Center, Leiden (NL)

Abstract (English)

Emphysema is a lung disease, characterised by abnormal enlargement of air spaces accompanied by destruction of alveoli walls and a decrease in lung densities. Investigators already discovered that Computer Tomography (CT) is informative to describe the presence and severity of emphysema in an objective manner. At our institute, software has been developed for the quantification of emphysema from CT- images. Before CT-parameters can be used in clinical research studies, it must be demonstrated to the registration authorities and pharmaceutical industry, that CT- measurements can be obtained reproducibly and that the results are more sensitive to emphysema than lung function tests. To achieve this, the software will be installed and used at 5 European hospitals to assess emphysema and to predict the effect of lung surgery on severe cases. After the expected outcome, the industry is able to start clinical trials to evaluate possible treatment of emphysema.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 00.0565