Prof Paul Whelan awarded a SFI Investigator Programme Grant
23 October 2002

Prof Paul Whelan and his team, Dr. Helen Fenlon (Department of Radiology, Mater Hospital) and Dr. Padraic Mac Mathuna (Gastrointestinal Unit, Mater Hospital) have been awarded a SFI Investigator Programme Grant for their work in medical imaging.

The Virtual Colonoscopy Analysis (VCA) involves computer visualisation and image analysis techniques. The patient undergoes a brief CT scan lasting less than five minutes without sedation. The CT images are then processed by a computer workstation to create a 3-D image of the colon as if seen by the colonoscope.

The project will take place over 4 year period. This award will be used to support postrgraduate and postdoctoral researchers and will feed into the VSG's existing medical imaging systems research program.

With this support and funding it is hoped that further development of this non-invasive novel diagnostic test may increase the detection rates of pre-malignant polyps in high-risk individuals such as persons with a family history of colon cancer.

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