The Prevent Cancer Foundation (PCF) has announced a new approach for selecting the optimal CT screening protocols for lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The organization is undertaking a crowd-sourced, ultra-low-cost challenge called The CT Lung Cancer Screening Protocol Challenge, that imaging centers throughout the world can participate in.

In February 2015, CMS announced that it will reimburse annual low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screening for individuals between the ages 55 and 77 who are current smokers or have quit smoking within the past 15 years and have a smoking history of at least 30-pack years. The next hurdle was to establish screening protocols.

With these new image quality assessment methods, the lung cancer and COPD imaging communities now have a tool to establish effective methods for screening.
The first challenge only focused on lung cancer and had 28 clinical imaging participating sites. The initial CT data that was submitted from those sites uncovered many insights into CT scanner utilization and performance for major thoracic diseases.

Because of the success of that initial challenge, the PCF, Lung Cancer Alliance, and Accumetra LLC are working with the COPD Foundation to broaden the scope and clinical site enrollment of the challenge to focus more on COPD.

All lung cancer and COPD imaging clinical sites around the world can participate. The data submission for the initial phase for this first challenge ends on May 31, 2016 and the findings will be released on June 13, 2016 at the Quantitative Imaging Workshop XIII.

However, clinical sites can submit data after the deadline in order to be a part of a longer-term study to establish improved lung imaging methods. To participate in the challenge, send an email to info@accumetra.com.

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