Partnership to help cancer research

THE ability for radiologists to compress images small enough to be transferred to an iPad or iPhone is a mutual area of technological interest shared by the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute and Lake Imaging.

“I can open up my iPad anywhere in the world and access a cancer patient’s current PET scan as well as archived scans,” said FECRI director Professor George Kannourakis.

Now that shared interest is about to benefit both FECRI and Lake Imaging following the announcement of a new three-year partnership between the two Ballarat based organisations.

It will see Lake Imaging provide not only much need funding to FECRI, it will also deliver technology to the Institute to enable scientific images to be shared with researchers around the world.

“We are trying to find similarities in how we can actually use some of the technology Lake Imaging has been very  successfully using for radiology images, for our research area,” said Professor Kannourakis.

While Lake imaging has sponsored the institute’s annual fund raiser, Ballarat Cycle Classic, since the inaugural event 12 years ago, this is its first over-arching partnership with FECRI.

Lake Imaging’s general manager Dan Hilbert said the partnership will help strengthen the Institutes national and international collaborative connections.

“We are really thrilled to be able to share our expertise and open doors to technology that FECRI needs, building on our long-term relationship with George and the Institute.”

As Australia’s only regionally based cancer research centre, FECRI it is nongovernment funded and relies on the generous support of the community to continue research into more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer.

Lake Imaging, founded in Ballarat is the largest provider of radiology in rural and regional Victoria.