40tude is delighted to have been the primary funder of the PERFECTS programme, a pilot programme designed to develop the quality and availability of CT Colonography screening throughout the NHS.

During this study, the team at St. Mark's looked at the quality of interpretation of CT Colonography (CTC).  CT Colonography is a highly effective screening tool to identify early stage colon cancer.  This CT scanner-based test is non-invasive and is therefore more comfortable for patients than some other screening options. It also provides the ability to look at the other organs in the abdomen and pelvis outside the colon, including the appendix.

The data collated by the research team clearly showed that just one day of high-quality training for radiologists could improve the quality of their interpretations by as much as 20%. With the support of 40tude, the PERFECTS team took the initiative to develop  a new Training and Quality Assurance tool for CT Colonography .

40tude's seed funding for the initial three years of this programme enabled the PERFECTS team to successfully provide high-quality training for more than 70 radiologists, with others now able to access the PERFECTS method of training in this method of cancer screening. 

The success of the PERFECTS team has led to the creation of the new National CTC Academy (NCTA), with the aim of making training in CTC screening more widely accessible across the UK.  So far twelve Centres of Excellence have been established throughout England, enabling more high-quality training to be provided to radiologists and radiographers.

In view of 40tude's strong connections with Scotland, we're delighted also to have committed to fund the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence at Stracathro Hospital near Dundee, with the aim of helping the expansion of high-quality CT Colonography bowel screening capacity within Scotland too.  Representatives from Northern Ireland and Wales have begun to participate in the programme now also.

In addition we're delighted that the Academy has been officially recognised by NHS England's Education and Training Activity Plan (ETAP) which has agreed to fund 210 trainees per year ongoing. 
 
This endorsement solidifies the NCTCA’s position as a leading provider of high-quality CT colonography (CTC) training for radiologists and radiographers across the UK, and its approval confirms that the NCTCA’s training modules meets the highest standards of educational quality, clinical relevance, and professional development. 
 
With ETAP approval, the NCTCA is poised to expand its reach and impact. We’re delighted that it now has the support of the Midlands Imaging Training Academy, BSGAR and NHS England. NCTCA is also attracting self funders from both within and outside of the UK, further embedding this programme's sustainability. 
 
We’re proud also that as more radiologists and radiographers are now able to perform CTC it is being used increasingly within the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme – a great example of 40tude’s approach of funding the early phases of a research project, enabling a pioneering initiative to be realised and incorporated into NHS practice.