DigiBOB

Digital breast cancer population screening (DigiBOB)

The RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands) is working hard to digitise the population screening for the prevention of breast cancer. Radiologists will remotely assess the X-ray images

The RIVM started digitising the entire process of breast cancer population screening in 2006. Emile Knops is project leader of DigiBOB. He outlines in brief what is involved in this successful large-scale preventive screening: ‘Each woman of 50 to 75 years of age receives an invitation for a screening every other year. The response is high, about 85 percent. This means that 900,000 women are screened voluntarily
each year. In the Netherlands we use 63 specially adapted mobile units that visit each district to make the screening as accessible as possible. Laboratory technicians take dozens of X-rays each day in these mobile units.
At the end of the day the results are sent to pairs of radiologists, who will then independently assess each mammogram.

Read the Best Practice.