Consultancy
Expertise improves diagnosis of breast cancer
Clients
National Health Service Breast Screening Programme
Expertise
Applied vision research
Our applied vision experts created a self-assessment and training scheme for the UK’s National Health Service Breast Screening Programme.
PERFORMS - PERsonal perFORmance in Mammographic Screening - was founded by Professor Alastair Gale from the University's Applied Vision Research Centre (AVRC).
The scheme allows those who are screening for breast tumours to see many more abnormal and malignant variations than they would normally in the course of their work, helping them to identify cases when they do arise. It gives them immediate feedback and allows them to assess their own performance within the national range and identify where further training may be needed.
Commercial versions of the scheme, run independently by the AVRC, are now being developed through our Consultancy service and will be available to organisations worldwide.
Impact
- PERFORMS has played a critical role in improving and maintaining the diagnosis of breast cancer since the NHS began screening over 20 years ago
- A new agreement with the NHS will see the University advance its training techniques in response to the introduction of digital screening
- There is now a sister-scheme called IMPROVE, which is used as a test for trainee screeners in the NHS