$200K in Grants Boost Radiology Big Data Analytics Research
The Radiation Oncology Institute aims to support radiation oncology research by offering $200,000 in competitive grants to qualifying projects that use big data analytics to improve cancer patient outcomes, reported the organization in an official press release.
The grants will provide funding for two-year projects that use big data analytics to advance quality in one or more areas of the radiation oncology process, including radiation therapy.
“Big data approaches may advance quality improvement in our field by helping identify links between factors such as patient or tumor characteristics and outcomes, ranging from positive treatment responses to dosimetric uncertainties or outright errors,” said Deborah A. Kuban, MD, FASTRO, Radiation Oncology Institute President. “These grants are designed to support innovative research with the potential for real-world impact on patient care.”
Proposed projects should employ big data analytics strategies to improve cancer treatment outcomes, address top questions in the field, and influence policymakers.
The Radiation Oncology Institute will also consider projects that focus on pinpointing and analyzing data sources from different healthcare sectors that care for patients receiving radiation therapy. These project should endeavor to establish quality improvement and assurance measures for different healthcare providers.
All projects are required to use existing datasets, such as CMS Medicare databases. Proposed projects cannot not use the grant to develop new datasets or registries, the Institute pointed out.
