Segasist Technologies, a Canadian software company developing next-generation image contouring platforms for biomedical applications, has launched a crowd funding campaign to bring its software Reconcillio on cloud.
Reconcillio is the first technology to provide quality assurance in treatment planning for radiation therapy. The software offers automated consensus contouring of tumor images, which increases the safety, accuracy and efficiency of radiation treatments. These markings, called contours, are crucial for efficient treatment. The more accurate the contours, the higher the success rate of killing cancer cells in a shorter time. Inaccurate contouring can lead to partial tumor radiation and damage to the surrounding healthy tissues.
Currently, there is no quality assurance for contouring. Cancer patients have to rely on the knowledge and contouring skills of their doctor. Unfortunately, it is well documented that clinicians, given the same image, generally produce different contours. Depending on the tumor type, size and location, studies have shown that clinicians' contours deviate considerably from each other ranging from 5% up to a frightening 60% difference. This long-standing problem is called "inter-observer variability" and results in suboptimal patient care and a more costly treatment.
"So, what is the solution?" asks Hamid Tizhoosh, the CEO of Segasist Technologies, "Ideally, we would have several doctors contour the tumor images of one patient. From this, a 'consensus contour' that reflects the collective knowledge of all the doctors is created to serve as a benchmark for accurate measurements. This approach can drastically reduce the variability and assure greater accuracy in treatment."
Reconcilio was designed because no healthcare system can afford such a multi-doctor approach.
"Taking this a step further" adds Tizhoosh, "our intention is to put this technology on the 'cloud' in order to extend the software to a large number of doctors and to cover many cancer cases. Software as a Service (SaaS) will enable any doctor to request 'consensus contours' at any time."
Supporters receive different rewards, among others user/site licenses of Segasist contouring software that they can use themselves or donate to any hospital.