In competition with three other university hospitals, the Gothenburg consortium, comprising Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg and Gothia Forum, has been awarded 5 million SEK to fund a pilot study to test the feasibility of SCAPIS (Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study). Implementation of the pilot will begin in 2012.
The applications were reviewed by international experts, and the board of the Heart-Lung Foundation announced the decision on 17 June 2011. One of the international experts, Professor Russell V. Luepker, stated in his evaluation of Gothenburg’s proposal that: – This is a well-designed proposal from an experienced group. -Many of the proposed technologies are unique. -The plans for follow-up care of incidental findings are well considered and state-of-the-art.
New and improved ways to characterize disease mechanisms
The aim of the full-scale SCAPIS is to extensively map cardiac, vascular and pulmonary function in a Swedish cohort of 30,000 men and women aged 50 to 65 years over three years and to use the acquired information to characterize disease mechanisms. This will facilitate the prevention, prediction of prognosis and improved treatment of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
The pilot study funded in Gothenburg will extensively phenotype 1000 randomly selected residents from the Västra Götaland region to determine if the proposed protocol is feasible for the full-scale SCAPIS. Professor Göran Bergström, professor of cardiovascular research at the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg and coordinator of the pilot study, is positive that Gothenburg is well placed to implement the pilot study because of the effective organization of the consortium and because the project will use the resources and expertise of both the Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Sahlgrenska Academy.
The pilot study will be conducted at the Center for Clinical Trials (CTC), which has extensive experience in dealing with large numbers of patients. The participants will receive a thorough medical examination and will be updated with regard to their current health status. The project will be coordinated by Gothia Forum. Camilla Palmqvist, project manager at Gothia Forum, recognizes that the pilot SCAPIS will be logistically challenging but also exciting, and will provide great opportunities for research both now and in the future.
The focus of SCAPIS
• To optimize the possibilities to study disease mechanisms.
• To identify individuals at risk of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
• To improve individuals’ health through improved diagnosis, care and treatment.