At the launch ceremony (Photo: laodong.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – VIETRAD,
an online platform developed over the last year that uses machine learning
technology to test, monitor and improve radiologic diagnosis of ,
was launched on November 12.
The project was
developed thanks to the funding of more than 340,000 AUD (245,700 USD) by the Australian
Government through its .
VIETRAD uses a novel image interpretation and
training approach from Australia, transferred by The University of Sydney.
Using high quality mammograms from Vietnam and Australia, expert radiologists
are able to practice reading images and improve their skill. Errors in
diagnosis are identified, while helps to target
training and further improve their capability.
This approach can transform
radiologists’ efficacy in breast cancer detection on mammograms from below 50
percent today to 85 percent. This improvement is equivalent to that of Australian
radiologists using the original platform.
Speaking at the launch event, Australian
Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie said: “Australia is proud to have been
providing long-standing support to Vietnam in innovation policy and practice.
The Aus4Innovation Partnership Grants, which scale up innovative ideas for
socioeconomic development, are supporting so many interesting projects like
VIETRAD.”
In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Health Tran
Van Thuan noted that VIETRAD platform is the first of its kind in Vietnam. “Now
doctors and researchers can access to this advance system no matter where they
are and improve their capability to detect breast cancer from reading
mammograms,” he said.
The VIETRAD platform will be introduced and
implemented in hospitals in Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.
VIETRAD is funded by Aus4Innovation Partnership
Grants, an important part of the 11 million AUD, four-year (2018-2022)
investment by the Australian Government to help strengthen the Vietnamese
innovation system. Aus4Innovation is co-funded by the Australian Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and InnovationXchange (IXC).
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in
Vietnamese women, with over 10,000 new cases diagnosed annually. With most patients
presenting in later stages, treatment is more difficult and survival rates are
reduced. Early cancer detection depends on accurate interpretation of breast
images by radiologists and this is essential to improving treatment efficacy
and patient prognosis. In Vietnam, however, diagnostic efficacy in detecting
abnormalities on mammograms is below 50 percent./.
Source: VietnamPlus
