SCOPES project secures $3 million grant funding to develop digital colonoscopy surveillance program

The Sur­gi­cal and Peri­op­er­a­tive Care Statewide Clin­i­cal Net­work (SCN) is pleased to announce that a $3 mil­lion grant has been award­ed from the Med­ical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to devel­op a dig­i­tal colonoscopy sur­veil­lance pro­gram. The SCOPES plat­form (Sur­veil­lance Colonoscopy Opti­mised Pre­ven­tion via an E‑System), will help man­age the grow­ing demand for colono­scopies and improve col­orec­tal can­cer pre­ven­tion and sur­vival outcomes. 

The SCOPES project will devel­op a web-based plat­form that will allow patients to track their colonoscopy results, sched­ule fol­low-up appoint­ments, and receive reminders about their care. The plat­form will also col­lect data that can be used to improve the qual­i­ty of colonoscopy care. 

SCOPES is a col­lab­o­ra­tive project that involves con­sumers, clin­i­cians, and researchers from across South Aus­tralia, with rep­re­sen­ta­tion from each local health net­work and rur­al sup­port ser­vices. The SCOPES project dis­cov­ery com­menced in 2021, under the expert guid­ance of the SCOPES work­ing group, formed with the sup­port of the Statewide Sur­gi­cal and Peri­op­er­a­tive Care Clin­i­cal Net­work. The project is expect­ed to be com­plet­ed in 2026. 

“This is a game-chang­er for col­orec­tal can­cer pre­ven­tion and sur­vival,” said Dr. Phil Whor­ley, Clin­i­cal lead for the Sur­gi­cal and Peri­op­er­a­tive Care SCN. ​“SCOPES will make it eas­i­er for patients to get the care they need and improve their chances of ear­ly detec­tion and treatment.” 

Spe­cial thanks to Asso­ciate Pro­fes­sor Erin Symonds for her out­stand­ing con­tri­bu­tions towards the grant appli­ca­tion, along with the con­tri­bu­tion of the many co-inves­ti­ga­tors and the SCOPES work­ing group. 

For more infor­ma­tion about the Sur­gi­cal and Peri­op­er­a­tive SCN and asso­ci­at­ed projects, see Statewide Sur­gi­cal and Peri­op­er­a­tive Care Clin­i­cal Net­work.