Project

i-Violin
Implementing verifiable oncological imaging by quality assurance and optimisation

Diagnosis & treatmentEU4Health2022

i-Violin is a project on the quality and safety of radiation technology in diagnosis and treatment of cancer with the objectives to satisfy the clearly identified need to optimise and harmonise oncological imaging procedures in Europe and ensure their broad adoption

Project description

i-Violin is a collaborative project involving 10 partners from 9 countries, focusing on the quality and safety of radiation technology in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The primary objectives of i-Violin are to address the recognized need for optimizing and standardizing oncological imaging procedures in Europe, as well as promoting their widespread implementation.

Although the existing discrepancies in oncological imaging procedures across Europe are evident from various projects and surveys conducted by the EuroSafe Imaging campaign, i-Violin aims to tackle these disparities at the European level, ultimately enhancing cancer care for patients throughout Europe.

i-Violin aims to address the challenges hindering the optimization of oncological imaging methods. It seeks to disseminate a tool that assesses image quality, developed in MEDIRAD for chest CT in hospitals across Europe and adapt this tool for imaging procedures in the abdominal and pelvic regions, where a satisfactory assessment tool is currently lacking.

The effectiveness of existing commercial software in evaluating patient-specific dose indicators will be validated against more advanced dose-evaluation tools developed for chest CT, which consider patient parameters and image settings to determine organ doses. However, to achieve patient-specific radiation protection, a combination of image-quality assessment and dose evaluation on the same patient images is necessary. To facilitate this, a European database will be established, containing CT images obtained using different imaging parameters, corresponding patient dose indicators, and image quality indicators. Recommendations will be provided based on the findings of these approaches.

To promote the adoption of optimization measures for image quality assessment and dose evaluation in European member states, it is crucial to disseminate i-Violin’s deliverables among hospitals, policy makers, societies, and other stakeholders. Additionally, implementing education and training activities is essential. i-Violin aims to establish a unified and standardized approach to oncological imaging, supported by a targeted education and training program for radiologists, radiographers, and medical physicists. To accomplish its goals, i-Violin has organized its work into seven distinct work packages.