BCAN-RAY
Summary
BCAN-RAY (Breast Cancer Risk Assessment in Young Women) is a research study investigating how genetic, lifestyle, and family history factors influence breast and ovarian cancer risk in women under 40. The study aims to improve early detection and prevention by identifying risk factors earlier in life. We designed and developed a secure web platform where participants can provide personal and health information, schedule follow-up clinical assessments, and view their personalised risk results.
Platform
Web app
Funders
Cancer Research UK, Alliance for Cancer Early Detection, The Christie Charitable Fund and Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal, The Shine Bright Foundation.
Services
- Digital health research
- Co-design
- UI/UX design
- Software development
- Technical project management
- Quality assurance
Our role & approach
- Collaborated with the research team to co-design a participant-facing digital service supporting the entire study journey.
- Built a secure web app for participant registration, survey completion, and follow-up results access.
- Developed risk visualisation features, turning complex clinical modelling outputs into understandable charts and percentages.
- Ensured the platform followed best practice in usability and accessibility.
- Supported security and compliance, aligning with NHS standards for data protection and patient confidentiality.
What we built
- A secure participant web app with registration and login.
- Structured forms to capture participant details, family history of breast cancer, and health information.
- A personalised results portal where participants can view their breast and ovarian cancer risk as percentages compared to the national average, including 10 year and 40 year risk projections.
- A WCAG 2.2 AA compliant web app, fully responsive across desktop, tablet, and mobile.
- Robust security and data protection, aligned with NHS digital standards.
Outcomes & impact
- Delivered a secure, end-to-end digital service that supports participant recruitment, data capture, clinical follow-up, and personalised results delivery.
- Empowered participants with direct feedback on their risk, increasing engagement and value in the research process.
- Enabled researchers to collect high-quality, structured data efficiently.
- Supported risk-based participant follow-up, streamlining the process of identifying women who would benefit from further assessment.
- Contributed to the legacy of the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal and Shine Bright Foundation, creating a digital foundation for research into earlier risk assessment of breast and ovarian cancer in young women.
“It was academically fulfilling working with the Digital Health Software Team on the BCANRAY project. The web based application supported women in study participation, leading to very high levels of acceptability. Perhaps even more importantly women are entering early breast screening and prevention to start reducing the mortality rates from breast cancer in this population. A huge thank you to the team for their part in this work.”
Dr Sacha Howell