Visualisation specialists See3D, a spin off company of the University of Aberystwyth, is developing unique, sophisticated computer-generated models that will help doctors to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
More than 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK alone - and approximately 10,000 deaths per year are associated with this form of cancer. The sooner prostate cancer is diagnosed the better a patient's chances of rapid recovery will be. However, the development of prostate cancer at an early stage is often very difficult to diagnose, depending on where the cancer is located.
See3D's visualisation project, commissioned by medical imaging software company Oncomorph Analysis Limited, established by the University of Aberystwyth and Exomedica Ltd., will over the next two years, identify smaller cancerous regions of the prostate that are currently undetectable to doctors by the rapid processing of numerical data. Doctors can then use this information to aid diagnosis and, subsequently, treatment.
Doctors have three treatment options once prostate cancer has been diagnosed: to remove the prostate, to deliver chemotherapy and radiology, or, if the cancer is too advanced, then a 'wait and see' approach is taken. The visualisation software developed during the Oncomorph Analysis project will also be used for treatment planning, as it will enable doctors to investigate the development of the cancer and thus determine the best treatment option.