Privacy-friendly breast cancer risk tool
Privacy-Aware Federated Learning for Breast Cancer Risk Assessment
This project builds a privacy-first computer method that estimates breast cancer risk from medical images using data kept at each hospital.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Indiana University Indianapolis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Indianapolis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11146707 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team will use federated learning, which trains computer models across many hospitals without moving your medical images off-site so your data stays at your hospital. They will apply this approach to mammograms and related imaging using their FeTS-OpenFL platform that has already been used for brain tumor and mammography tasks. Participating hospitals train models locally and share only model updates, not raw images. The aim is a risk tool that works across different machines and patient groups while protecting privacy.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People getting screening or diagnostic mammograms at hospitals participating in the project are the most likely candidates to contribute data and benefit from improved risk estimates.
Not a fit: Patients who do not have mammograms, whose care sites do not take part in the federation, or who cannot provide consent at their site are unlikely to benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could produce more accurate and widely applicable breast cancer risk estimates while keeping your imaging data private.
How similar studies have performed: Related federated learning efforts have shown promising results for imaging tasks like brain tumor segmentation and mammography tissue analysis, but applying FL specifically to breast cancer risk prediction is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Indianapolis, United States
- Indiana University Indianapolis — Indianapolis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bakas, Spyridon — Indiana University Indianapolis
- Study coordinator: Bakas, Spyridon
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.