Centre for Clinical Excellence will conduct research into the camera pill

This was the assessment from the panel of international subject experts who have assessed that Odense University Hospital's Department of Surgery in Svendborg needs 7.5 million DKK to establish a research centre that will receive the distinction Centre for Clinical Excellence. The research centre will be named CICA – Centre for Clinical Implementation of Capsule Endoscopy.

Centre for Clinical Excellence is an award that the Region of Southern Denmark gives to particularly qualified research centres. An assessment committee, consisting of international subject experts, assesses which of the applicants have the level for the award. The regional council then processes the award.

The chairman of the Region of Southern Denmark's health committee, Poul-Erik Svendsen (S), says:
"It is absolutely wonderful that we in Svendborg have researchers who are considered to be some of the leaders in the world in this field, and who therefore receive the award. When we give an award like this, it is also to focus on and strengthen the research we have in the region. Strong research environments attract talented researchers, and this in turn strengthens our clinical level. So it is really important that we have these beacons."

The 7.5 million DKK that comes with the award will be given over the next 5 years.

GREAT POTENTIAL IN GENTLE BOWEL EXAMINATIONS

CICA formalises and strengthens an already close collaboration between leading researchers within intestinal diseases and camera pill technology. Although the centre is located in Svendborg, the research projects will have contact with hospitals throughout the region.

The purpose of the centre is to offer more patient-friendly bowel examinations as well as more economically efficient examinations, as they currently take up a large amount of time and resources in the Danish hospitals. The camera pill will be able to replace a large number of colonoscopy examinations of the bowel, which are often experienced as unpleasant, offensive and painful by citizens. 20,000 colonoscopy examinations are carried out annually in the Region of Southern Denmark, and it is expected that this number can be reduced by approx. 50 percent with the introduction of camera pill examinations.

Previous studies, where citizens were offered both a camera pill and a colonoscopy, show that the expected and experienced discomfort was 80 percent lower with the camera pill. Read more about the camera pill here.

Professor Gunnar Baatrup, Head of CICA, says: "We are proud of the recognition of being awarded the title of Centre of Excellence in the Region of Southern Denmark. It gives us the opportunity to maintain the leading position we have achieved as "first movers" in the area, as it is now supported in a more solid organisation with support functions for our researchers, who come from very different disciplines and environments within medicine, surgery, software and hardware technology."

According to Gunnar Baatrup, the distinction and the accompanying funds can help unlock part of the potential in the field of camera pills:

"Development of artificial intelligence solutions in medical image analysis is experiencing explosive growth in these years. This is happening in recognition of the fact that there is a great potential for better diagnostics and treatment combined with rationalisation and cheaper processes. Processes that today occupy many of our highly trained employees' hours."

FACTS ON CICA

CICA is a good example of bringing clinical and technical research together and solving healthcare challenges in other ways.

The centre's activities are divided into seven different areas, which will deal with general aspects of camera pill examinations and more specific research within different patient groups. In addition, there will be a focus on the development and use of artificial intelligence in connection with the camera pill examinations. The activities will be managed by centre manager and professor within gastrointestinal surgery, Gunnar Baatrup.

The centre will be led by OUH's Department of Surgery in Svendborg and is a partnership between both clinical and technical research areas represented by OUH's Department of Surgery in both Odense and Svendborg, the Centre for Innovative Medical Technology, the Maersk McKinney Moller Institute at the University of Southern Denmark, the endoscopy departments and gastroenterologists from Vejle and Esbjerg, the Research Unit for General Practice and Sundhed.dk. The centre will also have a strong international network.

The centre will be officially inaugurated on 16 January. Here you can hear about the centre's research and meet the researchers behind it.