Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/L505316/1
Title:	Automating quality assessment of B-mode ultrasound scans (AQABUS)
Principal Investigator:	Noble, Professor A
Other Investigators:	Papageorghiou, Professor A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Engineering Science
Organisation:	University of Oxford
Scheme:	Technology Programme
Starts:	31 March 2014	Ends:	30 September 2016	Value (£):	347,905
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Image & Vision Computing Med.Instrument.Device& Equip.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Diagnostic quality of ultrasound (US) scans of the same patient can vary significantly, depending on the level of skill and expertise of the sonographer and the equipment used. This well documented operator dependence of quality can lead to misdiagnosis; unnecessary referrals to other imaging modalities; rescans; and results in inefficiencies in clinical workflow with associated added healthcare costs. In order to avoid the resultant delayed or incorrect stratification, sonographers are encouraged to follow standardised acquisition protocol guidelines. Clinical studies show the benefit of this. However, no systematic image reviews are undertaken. This lack of standardization and monitoring of conformance has implications for the quality of diagnosis and clinical decisions made in a health service, and is also a key barrier to wider adoption of US as a cost-effective technology for stratified medicine. In a collaboration between Intelligent Ultrasound Ltd and Oxford University, the AQABUS project proposes to develop and evaluate a technology platform for automated quality assessment of US scans. The solution will be delivered as a Quality Assurance Service (QAS) to imaging departments, to assess whether scans are fit for purpose. Innovations include creation of the IT infrastructure for delivering such a service; clinical design of QA reporting; and machine learning to automate image QA which is key to the business proposition.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.ox.ac.uk