PDF position-Artificial Intelligence and Software Systems for Breast Imaging

About this position

Context

Breast cancer

is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, with approximately

2.3 million new cases each year

. While early detection remains the most effective way to improve survival rates, current screening methods still face significant challenges related to cost, accessibility, and patient comfort.

BRAVE (BRA-based ViscoElastography)

is an innovative technology developed at the

University of Sherbrooke

that generates three-dimensional breast stiffness maps using a conventional bra and an optical imaging system. This approach is non-invasive, free of ionizing radiation, does not require breast compression, and eliminates direct contact with the patient.

Research project

The research team led by

Prof. Jean-Baptiste Michaud

, in collaboration with

Prof. Elijah Van Houten

and

Prof. Valérie Grandbois

, has secured technology maturation funding to advance the BRAVE prototype toward a robust, scalable, and industry-ready software platform for clinical translation and future commercialization.

This initiative aims to modernize the platform’s software architecture, incorporate advanced artificial intelligence methodologies, and ensure compliance with the regulatory and quality requirements governing medical device technologies.

Proposed activities

Plan and implement the software platform maturation strategy.

Modernize and evolve the software architecture toward a distributed, modular infrastructure based on agents and microservices.

Deploy the tools and processes required for software lifecycle management, including version control, quality assurance, automated testing, and issue tracking.

Develop and integrate advanced computer vision, artificial intelligence, and data analytics algorithms.

Design and implement tools for system performance evaluation, optimization, and validation.

Integrate data management, metadata management, and access control infrastructures.

Contribute to the design and enhancement of user interfaces in collaboration with research teams and end users.

Manage, generate, and validate datasets used for the training and evaluation of artificial intelligence models.

Support clinical studies and contribute to research, innovation, and technology transfer activities.

Perform other related duties in support of the project's objectives and activities.

Supervision and research environment

The project will be carried out at the

Université de Sherbrooke

under the supervision of

Prof. Jean-Baptiste Michaud

, in collaboration with

Prof. Elijah Van Houten

and

Prof. Valérie Grandbois

. The selected candidate will join a multidisciplinary team spanning the

Faculty of Engineering

and the

Centre de recherche du CHUS (CRCHUS)

, bringing together expertise in software engineering, artificial intelligence, biomechanics, medical imaging, and technological innovation.