I-Corps: Customer discovery for breast cancer detection technology

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of software to create and recommend personalized breast screening plans, using only the patient’s first (baseline) mammogram. This individualized care could result in limiting the patient’s exposure to radiation or could provide the patient with access to supplemental screening.

Improving the screening process for women at a young age offers the chance of a better prognosis. In addition, early detection could allow for novel treatment options to target cancer-prone breast tissue, potentially leading to the prevention of the disease. The software would be comparable and complementary to genetic testing for breast cancer risks.

This I-Corps project is based on the development of a proposed computer-aided detection software and its potential to discriminate between healthy, organized, dense mammographic breast tissue versus unhealthy, disorganized, dense breast tissue often associated with the onset of a tumor. The subtle differences between healthy and unhealthy tissue are challenging to identify visually.

This technology discriminates between healthy and unhealthy tissue to identify the sub-regions of mammographic breast tissue that are particularly “risky”. The technology may explain the effect breast density has on someone's increased risk for breast cancer. Computer-aided breast cancer detection software has been used for over two decades without signficant clinical improvement.

The existing computer-aided detection programs have been criticized by medical professionals for producing high numbers of false positives, resulting in unnecessary biopsies and increased evaluation times. The proposed technology may solve these problems, offering a less stressful option to patients and their families.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.