[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 65 (Friday, April 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S5531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          U.S. INTELLIGENCE AND MEDICAL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

  Mr. KERREY. Madam President, I rise to issue a challenge that I hope 
will be answered with the creation of a stimulating partnership between 
business, medicine, and the Government, in this case the Federal 
Government. An important relationship is developing today between U.S. 
intelligence and the medical communities.
  Technology to support intelligence analysis is being adapted to 
improve significantly a doctor's ability to detect breast cancer in its 
earliest stages. Over 46,000 women die each year. The early estimates 
are, with this technology, that up to one-third of these women could be 
saved as a consequence of this technology conversion.
  The technology being developed is simple to describe but very 
difficult to achieve. Daily, intelligence analysts deal with the 
problem of detecting changes in photographic images they are reviewing. 
As they watch foreign airfields, they want to know arrivals, bed-down, 
and departures of aircraft. As they watch foreign seaports, they want 
to know the arrivals, unloading, and departures of ships carrying cargo 
of interest. Computer software can be of great assistance in 
automatically detecting these sorts of changes at airfields and at 
seaports. It is this intelligence technology that is being adapted for 
the medical community.
  Early detection of breast cancer currently relies heavily on the 
judgment and professional experience of doctors who review mammograms 
and magnetic resonance images. A significant part of their judgment is 
based on comparing previous images with the current image of a woman's 
breast. As in the intelligence world, detecting change is fundamental 
to understanding what is going on.
  Through some exciting developments managed by the National 
Information Display Lab at the David Sarnoff Labs in Princeton, NJ, 
computer analytical techniques are being developed for the medical 
community. Relying on the technology developed for intelligence, they 
are adapting the technology to combat a dreaded disease that attacks 1 
in 8 women in America today.
  Madam President, I want to emphasize that the tens of thousands of 
lives that already have been saved as a result of intelligence 
technology by providing more effective national defense will be 
complemented by the thousands of lives that will be saved through the 
earlier detection of breast cancer.
  This is an excellent example of the sound investment of taxpayers' 
dollars being paid off by saving thousands of lives in both national 
defense and medicine.
  The National Information Display Lab, or NIDL, is an inspiring 
arrangement that needs to be duplicated by other Government/private-
sector relationships. NIDL provides the bridge between Government/
civilian-sector requirements and Government/civilian-sector technology. 
By understanding both requirements and technologies, NIDL is able to 
help close the gap between the Government and the private sector. 
Perhaps the most significant part of NIDL's story is their funding. 
NIDL relies on Government funding to begin to develop technology, which 
is then spun off to the commercial world for civilian and Government 
applications.
  On Tuesday of this week, Madam President, the chairman of the 
Intelligence Committee, Senator Arlen Specter, and I announced 
intelligence community funding to begin the technology transfer for 
breast cancer research. The community is providing $375,000 to the NIDL 
to push the technology ahead. We are all aware of the intelligence 
community's keen sense of urgency, great technical expertise, and 
excellent planning skills which will ensure that the push forward has 
an effective start.
  I also want to personally thank President Clinton for making all of 
this happen. His commitment to breaking down the walls between defense 
technology and commercial technology, and his passion to attack the 
Nation's health problems with every weapon in our arsenal are the 
reasons this project is going forward. Once he knew that intelligence 
systems could bring earlier detection of breast cancer, this Government 
acted with determination and dispatch.
  I began, Madam President, by saying that I was issuing a challenge. 
The challenge is this: Will all the interested parties--Government, 
medical, and commercial--now pick up the ball that has been put into 
play and carry it forward so that within 12 to 24 months--I emphasize 
this, Madam President, because this start will not come to completion 
unless we set a deadline and say that within 12 to 24 months, we are 
going to carry this technology forward into the clinical labs and 
clinics of this country, so that within this period of time, more 
women's lives will be saved through the earlier detection of breast 
cancer. The National Information Display Lab must be put on a sound 
financial basis, and everyone must help. I hope the challenge will be 
met.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BENNETT. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to speak in morning business for up to 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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