Arcsight Engineer The Computer Merchant, Ltd US-DC-Washington Post A Job | Post A Resume

Oxford University has joined with IBM and the UK Government to build a sophisticated computing Grid based on the open standards of Linux that will enable early screening and diagnosis of breast cancer, and provide medical professionals with more information to help treat the disease.

The project, which represents an investment of approximately $6 million jointly by IBM and the UK, has been named "eDiamond" by Oxford researchers and is part of the UK government's eScience initiative. eDiamond will be the first Grid built entirely with commercially available technology, including a first-of-its-kind software developed by Mirada Solutions to standardize new and existing digital mammogram images. This capability will help radiologists accurately compare and evaluate mammography scans stored on eDiamond, no matter where or when they were created. eDiamond is expected to create a new model for assembling computing and data storage infrastructures for scanning, storing and analyzing mammograms.

"I am delighted this collaboration between leading academics, IBM, and Mirada, funded jointly by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and IBM, has led to the development of a project that could have such a direct benefit to society, said Lord Sainsbury, UK minister for Science. "The eDiamond program, part of the UK's £118 million e-Science initiative, will improve the detection of breast cancer and increase the efficiency of its subsequent treatment. The UK government recognizes the importance of projects such as this and we have recently increased our investment in science. By 2005-06 we will have increased the investment in our science base by £1.25 billion per year compared with this year. This project shows that investment in knowledge transfer enables effective partnerships between companies and universities or research institutes."

Patients, physicians and hospitals will benefit from better and faster access to more reliable and accurate mammogram images, thereby potentially increasing early cancer detection and the number of lives saved.

"We're applying the vast computing power of a Grid to create a massive digital 'photo album' of mammogram scans available to medical experts across the UK," said Nicholas M. Donofrio, senior vice president, technology and manufacturing for IBM. "The on-demand processing and storage capabilities of eDiamond will enable our most advanced technologies to personally and positively impact people more than ever before. The results of this project could transform breast cancer screening in the future and save lives."

In addition to enabling hospitals to store and share mammograms in digital form, the eDiamond Grid will provide physicians with advanced analytical tools and capabilities to better diagnose cancer in patients. Mammogram images will be data mined, allowing physicians to develop new forms of treatment by conducting in-depth studies to determine the impact of environment and lifestyle on the development of breast cancer. The Grid also is expected to help reduce the rate of false-positive diagnosis, overcome the challenge of inconsistent image formats and lost films that prevent proper diagnosis, while also allowing physicians to study and compare similar cases so they can develop better treatment options. The eDiamond Grid will be developed with direct input from surgeons, radiologists, and other cancer specialists and will use hardware and software available today. Many previous Grid projects included heavily customized technologies. IBM's DB2 and DiscoveryLink middleware will provide the advanced search and data mining capabilities and IBM WebSphere will enable file serving. IBM hardware powering the data Grid will include IBM's eServer pSeries and xSeries servers running Linux; TotalStorage FAStT500 storage servers and IBM Tape Library 3583; SAN Fibre Channel Switch; Netvista desktop computers; and IntelliStation workstations with T221 high-resolution flat screen monitors. The UK Mammography Grid will also be based on open protocols and will incorporate the Globus Toolkit as well as Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) when available in 2003.

Related Stories:
Forbes.com: Biotech's Cut-Rate Supercomputer(Jul 19, 2002)
AllLinuxDevices: BMS Bayer Ltd. Austria Develops First Linux-Based Medical Embedded Device(Jun 13, 2002)
PR: Life Sciences Industry Turns to Linux and IBM(Jun 11, 2002)
TechCentral: Doctors Opt for Open Source(Apr 30, 2002)

Index Mode   |   Flat Mode   |   Thread Mode   |   Thread Flat     Talkback(s) Name  and Date   Great!    Richard Corfield Oct 17, 2002, 07:01:08     Home | Search Talkbacks | Customize View    Top of Page   Enter your comments below: * Your Name: * Your Email Address: * Subject: CC: [will also send this talkback to an E-Mail address] * Comments: Tags allowed:<I>,<B> and <U>. See our talkback-policy for more about talkback content. Fields marked with * are required!