Test Bed Development for Detection and Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer via Internet and Wireless Communication Networks

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

PUBLIC ABSTRACT

A recent plan announced by President Bush calls for universal broadband access (high-speed Internet) in the U.S. It is thus desirable to take advantage of the broadband technology to improve health care for all Americans, including prostate cancer screenings for all American men. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. Early detection offers the best chance at long-term survival. However, in rural areas or developing countries where pathologists or physicians who specialize in diagnosing prostate cancer are scarce, men have difficulty accessing prostate cancer screenings and therefore incur greater risk. With the explosive development of information technologies (Internet, multimedia delivery, data mining), telecommunications infrastructures (wireline, wireless, satellite networks), and information processing techniques (imaging processing, automated detection and decision making), significant advances in telehealth technologies and applications, including telepathology and imaging techniques for early prostate cancer detection, are on the horizon.

This training program addresses detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer in two technology application aspects: (1) remote detection and diagnosis through Internet and wireless networks and (2) computer-aided detection and diagnosis. With remote detection and diagnosis, we will provide prostate cancer screenings to men in rural regions and developing countries. With computer-aided detection and diagnosis, we will develop techniques to reduce the costs of telepathology for prostate cancer detection and diagnosis, both in terms of transmission costs and online reading costs. Thus, remote and computer-aided prostate cancer detection and diagnosis will provide the opportunity for a higher penetration of men to obtain cancer screening. This program will demonstrate to engineering students the role of engineering and technologies in prostate cancer control, lead them into the research field of prostate cancer control, and encourage and attract talented undergraduate students into careers that focus on prostate cancer research.

Telepathology and imaging techniques for prostate cancer detection involve interdisciplinary research with challenges and many problems that need to be solved. There is a great demand for young scholars to study and work in this field. Through this training program, the trainees will (1) learn the roles of pathology, telepathology, and pathology informatics for prostate cancer detection and diagnosis; (2) learn medical imaging and imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection; (3) learn the roles and requirements of Internet and wireless systems in telepathology and teleconsultation; (4) practice programming for image processing and data transmissions; and (5) participate in various design projects, including Imaging Techniques for Early Prostate Cancer, Protocol Designs for Telepathology Services, and Quality-of-Service Evaluation of Transmission through Internet for Teleconsultation.

StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/01/0431/12/04

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