Erasmus MC and GE have begun a collaboration to improve the diagnosis of neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. To this end, both organizations have established a collaborative project with the Erasmus MC spin-off company Quantib, (short for Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers).
Quantib aims to facilitate faster and more accurate diagnoses, to support appropriate and timely treatment for patients. More than 250,000 people in the Netherlands have neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, MS and Parkinson's. The cost for the care of these patients amounts to more than 3.5 billion euros per year, so technologies that can improve patient care whilst taking cost out of the system are increasingly important.
Quantib is developing imaging processing technology that allows the detection and quantification of changes to brain tissue and brain structures, earlier than they can be detected by the human eye. It uses MR images with different tissue contrasts to break down the image into different structures within the brain; it then measures the individual volumes of the structures. These changes in volume in different structures can reflect early changes owing to disease.
Diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s cannot be prevented or cured today. However there are drugs available, and in development, which can slow the progression of such diseases. Different drugs vary in their impact on a person. This can have a major impact on the quality of life of the person. This new technology tool could provide the clinician with better decision-making information when planning drug treatment. Additionally, it can help determine if a particular drug is efficacious in its treatment ability or if an alternate should be investigated. This would ensure the better and more cost-effective treatment for patients.
Quantitative analysis of brain scans
Drawing on data from previous MRI and CT scans, the Quantib technology allows physicians to quantitatively and objectively compare and contrast an individual patient’s scan to data from previously harnessed images, potentially enabling faster identification of patterns in the brain related to disease, which in turn can lead to faster, earlier, and more accurate diagnoses. This can help to support strategies to delay the development of these diseases.
Quantib is funded by the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and technology company GE. The project is further supported by an innovation credit from the Dutch government.
Join forces
To make Quantib happen, Erasmus MC and GE combined their knowledge, experience and innovative strength. "Innovations and partnerships are necessary to improve and make healthcare more efficient," said Roland Teixeira, Country Executive of GE Benelux. " We hope that this project will be the start of more objective and quantitative analysis of images in hospitals worldwide, leading to better, earlier diagnosis of neurological disorders, creating savings for healthcare systems, and improving the quality of life for patients."
Wiro Niessen, professor of biomedical image analysis at Erasmus MC and TU Delft: “The technology that will be developed at Quantib will be at the foundation of a new generation of medical image analysis workstations. Clinicians will be assisted in diagnosis and treatment, by enabling an objective comparison with other patients or a reference population. This will lead to innovations which are to the benefit of the patient”.