Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

Education & Training
Education Training
Breast Imaging Training and Testing Simulator
WARF: P130350US01

Inventors: Lonie Salkowski

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing a simulator that helps assess and train medical professionals in the analysis of mammographic images.
Overview
The interpretation of mammograms is a complex process requiring experience-honed judgment. For this reason, breast imaging is a highly regulated healthcare discipline, with oversight from the FDA and Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA).

During radiology residency training, an experienced clinician works one-on-one with trainees to help them interpret mammograms. This training is extremely valuable. A tool that could provide unsupervised, but controlled, learning would be invaluable as well.
The Invention
A UW–Madison researcher has developed a simulator that helps radiology residents-in-training learn to interpret breast images (mammographic, ultrasound, etc.), assess their knowledge and compare their performance to experts.

The system is preloaded with medical histories and images from known clinical cases. The trainee is asked to recommend recall instructions. His/her responses are tested against the answers of an expert clinician and pathologic correlation. The program reports any divergence between the two.

The program uses actual clinical data and is designed to provide realistic yet demanding simulation. In addition to recall instructions, a trainee may be asked to complete other tasks, such as locating a suspicious lump or predicting whether a biopsy will be required.
Applications
  • Automated breast imaging training and testing
Key Benefits
  • First training simulator of its kind
  • Supplements one-on-one learning
  • Provides critical thinking experience and informative feedback
  • Helps the transition to an independent job setting
  • Uses familiar and well-established BI-RAD scoring
Additional Information
For More Information About the Inventors
For current licensing status, please contact Jeanine Burmania at [javascript protected email address] or 608-960-9846

WARF