The Wisconsin Oncology Network of Imaging eXcellence (WONIX) is a statewide partnership between the UW Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC), the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the UW Departments of Radiology and Medical Physics and community leaders, designed to provide access to advanced molecular imaging techniques throughout the state of Wisconsin.
WONIX is a unique public/private cancer imaging venture comprised of more than $8.5 million of total funding from the State, the UW and state-wide partner clinics.
The goal of WONIX is to build on UWCCC’s existing network of collaborating institutions – Wisconsin Oncology Network (WON) – which offers patients access to the newest treatments through clinical studies. In order to more effectively predict how cancer behaves in the body, WONIX has five basic objectives:
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Increasing availability of advanced molecular imaging agents
Molecular imaging agents are injected into a patient’s body to highlight the changes in tumors more precisely, helping clinicians determine whether a treatment is working much earlier in the process. WONIX will develop a process to create even more advanced imaging agents while developing an infrastructure for delivery across the state.
Improving imaging standards
Currently, hospitals across the state have different equipment and levels of expertise for cancer imaging. New partnerships will harmonize practices for acquiring and evaluating images.
Establishing an informatics highway
Sharing information between WONIX members is key to research collaboration. That’s why WONIX is establishing a unique infrastructure that will enable to effectively capture, transfer and store molecular imaging and other confidential patient data between individual WONIX sites and the UWCCC.
Creating a comprehensive and minable data warehouse
Accumulation of comprehensive patient data, including imaging and molecular biomarkers together with clinical outcome data represents a unique challenge. WONIX will organize these data to allow for effective future exploration (e.g., data mining).
Implementation of state-of-the-art clinical studies
With the infrastructure in place, WONIX members are in the process of launching advanced clinical studies with our partners across the state using advanced imaging techniques for various cancers such as lung cancer, prostate cancers, lymphoma and leukemia.
By reorganizing and expanding the existing UWCCC Translational Imaging Research Working Group (TIRWG) resources, such as consultation, coordination, and imaging quality assurance, the above objectives will be met throughout the WONIX network.
The Wisconsin Oncology Network of Imaging eXcellence Presentation
The Wisconsin Oncology Network of Imaging eXcellence Presentation (pdf)