Landelijk Referentiecentrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek

What Landelijk Referentiecentrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek does

Landelijk Referentiecentrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek (LRCB) is an independent Dutch foundation headquartered in Nijmegen that delivers quality assurance, training, auditing and scientific research services for population-based cancer screening programmes, principally the Dutch national breast cancer screening programme under contract to the RIVM.

Its core portfolio comprises expert-led audits and visitations of screening programmes, a national Quality Register that tracks training compliance for radiologists, radiographers and physicists, modular training courses (including EUSOBI-co-organised international courses in Digital Breast Cancer Screening), and authored protocols and European guidelines — notably the European quality control protocol for breast tomosynthesis systems. LRCB also performs scientific evaluation through its Landelijk Evaluatie Team voor bevolkingsonderzoek (LETB) and annual Monitor/Science Reports, and has begun extending QA services into prenatal screening.

Revenue is generated through three streams: government contracting for the Dutch screening QA mandate (managed services), fee-for-service training and on-site programmes for screening organisations (professional services), and research grants/collaborative projects including a EUR 1M+ UICC award in 2024. The foundation operates with roughly 35 cross-disciplinary experts and pursues international engagements in Brazil, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa in addition to its Dutch anchor.

Name

Landelijk Referentiecentrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek

Legal name

Het Landelijk Referentie Centrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek (LRCB)

Website

https://lrcb.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

LRCB is an independent Dutch foundation that delivers quality assurance, training, auditing and research services for the national breast cancer screening programme under contract to RIVM, with additional international training and protocol work across Europe, the Caribbean and Brazil.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Quality Assurance

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAGAKAI

Clinical Quality Assurance (GCP QA, TMF/QMS oversight)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Compliance Services (GxP)

SECONDARYHLAGAKAM

Training & Competency Programs for GxP Compliance

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Compliance Services (GxP)

SECONDARYBPADANAD

Conformity Assessment, Testing, Inspection & Certification Cooperation

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

Keywords

• Breast cancer screening
• Quality assurance services
• Mammography training programs
• Screening quality protocols
• Medical imaging audits

Headquarters

HQ city

Nijmegen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Quality Assurance Services: LRCB is contracted for quality assurance and optimization of screening programs as an independent foundation. Primary funding comes from government contracting for national screening program quality assurance.
2. Training and Education Services: LRCB provides various training programs including mammography courses, hands-on training, lectures, and international courses. Training is available for individuals and groups both on-site at LRCB and at client locations.
3. Research and Evaluation: LRCB conducts research and evaluation for population-based breast cancer screening, including the Landelijk Evaluatie Team voor Bevolkingsonderzoek (LETB) reports and annual science reports.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Landelijk Referentiecentrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek (LRCB) is the Dutch Reference Centre for Screening, an independent foundation (onafhankelijke stichting) that provides quality assurance and optimization for national breast cancer screening programmes through clinical audits, professional training and education, scientific research, and the maintenance of screening quality registers. It serves radiologists, radiographers, medical physicists, and screening organizations.

Product overview

LRCB (Landelijk Referentiecentrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek) is the Dutch Reference Centre for Screening, operating as an independent foundation contracted for quality assurance and optimization of screening programmes. The organization offers a unified portfolio centered on breast cancer screening quality assurance, encompassing training and education programmes for radiologists, radiographers, physicists and technicians; scientific research and evaluation services; quality registers for screening professionals; and knowledge resources including European guidelines. The organization also supports prenatal screening with type approvals and equipment testing services. Key offerings include international training courses in Digital Breast Cancer Screening (in cooperation with EUSOBI), audits, and various educational programmes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Breast Cancer Screening Quality Assurance Services
• Training and Education Programmes
• Scientific Research and Evaluation
• Prenatal Screening Support
• Quality Registers
• Knowledge Resources and Guidelines

Quantifiable outcome

• Women participating in population screening have 50 percent lower risk of dying from breast cancer
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, strategic and core.

• Curaçao and ArubaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021In September 2021, LRCB conducted successful visitation of the breast cancer screening program on Curaçao and Aruba, providing quality assessment and guidance.
• Barretos Cancer Hospital (Brazil)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Since 2009, LRCB cooperates with Barretos Cancer Hospital to improve and safeguard the quality of their breast cancer screening program. LRCB helped set up the Advanced Mammography School (Nucleo de Mamografia) in Brazil.
• RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe most important partner and customer of LRCB for the role within the breast cancer screening programme is the RIVM. As part of the RIVM, the Centre for Screening (CvB) has a coordinating role for all screening activities in The Netherlands. LRCB provides quality assurance and optimization services.
• Bevolkingsonderzoek NederlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLRCB cooperates closely with Bevolkingsonderzoek Nederland, the national organization for screening breast cancer. This is a close working relationship in coordinating and improving the Dutch breast cancer screening program.
• EUSOBI (European Society of Breast Imaging)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAt European level, LRCB cooperates with EUSOBI to organize annual international training programmes in Digital Breast Cancer Screening. The 5-day courses include hands-on training and expert lectures.
• Joint Research Centre (JRC)strategicTechnology or IntegrationEuropean level cooperation with the Joint Research Centre on breast cancer screening quality standards and research.
• EUREF (European Reference Organisation for Quality Assured Breast Screening)strategicTechnology or IntegrationEuropean collaboration on quality standards, with LRCB leading the development of the European quality control protocol for breast tomosynthesis systems.
• Radboudumc (Radboud University Medical Center)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific connections with Radboudumc in Nijmegen, where LRCB is located. Collaboration on research and medical imaging expertise.
• Academic Medical Center AmsterdamstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific connections on research related to breast cancer screening and medical imaging.
• Leiden University Medical CenterstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific connections for breast cancer screening research collaboration.
• University Medical Center UtrechtstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific connections for research collaboration in breast cancer screening.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EUREF (European Reference Organisation for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services): EUREF is the European reference body that sets and audits quality standards for breast cancer screening programmes — LRCB develops and chairs tomosynthesis QC protocols published via EUREF and co-organizes international training with EUREF-affiliated bodies.
• BreastScreen Australia: BreastScreen Australia delivers a national mammography screening programme with the same accreditation, QA visits, and radiologist/radiographer training structure that LRCB provides in the Netherlands.
• NHS Breast Screening Programme: The UK's national breast screening programme performs the same end-to-end QA, training, and accreditation role as LRCB but at national scale for NHS England — directly comparable model for population-based mammography QA and radiographer/radiologist competency oversight.

Emerging players

• Therapixel: Therapixel markets MammoScreen, an AI triage/decision-support tool for mammography used across European screening programmes. Comparable because AI mammography is one of the quality dimensions LRCB's QA mandate would need to validate and certify.
• Volpara Health: Volpara sells AI-driven mammography quality and reporting software used by breast screening programmes — overlapping with LRCB's quality assurance scope, but delivered as software/SaaS rather than as on-site audits, training, and accreditation services.

Others

• Kiwa: Kiwa is the Dutch certification body that issues LRCB's NEN7510 information security certification and appears on LRCB's website footer. Comparable as an adjacent testing, inspection and certification services organization operating in regulated healthcare and conformity assessment.
• European Society of Radiology (ESR): ESR is the umbrella European radiology society running the ECR congress where LRCB presents research. It is not a direct QA competitor but could in theory expand into screening QA certification given its continental reach and standards-setting history.
• Bevolkingsonderzoek Nederland: Bevolkingsonderzoek Nederland is the national coordinating organization for population screening programmes and a close working partner of LRCB. It is not a QA peer itself but represents the customer/ecosystem interface through which LRCB's QA services reach the screening field.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Radiology (ACR) — Mammography Accreditation Program: ACR runs the dominant US mammography accreditation programme (MAP), a direct functional peer to LRCB's quality assurance work, but as part of a much broader radiology accreditation portfolio across the United States.

Regional players

• Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) — Ontario Breast Screening Program: Ontario's organized breast screening programme performs comparable QA, mammography facility accreditation, and radiologist performance review functions, but operates under a Canadian provincial payer model rather than the Dutch national-contracted foundation model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LandelijkReferentiecentrumVoorBevolkingsonderzoek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-expert-and-training-centre-for-breast-cancer-screening

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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