Process

RSNA’s Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA) provides a forum for stakeholders to identify needs, barriers and solutions to develop and test consistent, reliable, valid and achievable quantitative imaging results across imaging platforms, clinical sites and time.

Stakeholders include the clinical research community, imaging equipment manufacturers, the pharmaceutical industry, government and medical informatics companies.

Efficient and valid methods for quantifying biomedical imaging results are required for optimal patient care, clinical research and new therapy development. QIBA accelerates the development and adoption of hardware and software standards needed to achieve these results.

Three steps of the QIBA process

  1. Define the clinical question and proposed biomarker.
  2. Produce the protocol and profile.
  3. Profile validation, promulgation and maintenance.

The QIBA approach

QIBA follows a defined, coordinated process for solutions development and adoption:

  1. Identify source of errors and variations in quantitative results from imaging methods.
  2. Specify potential solutions.
  3. Test solutions to assess feasibility.
  4. Promulgate solutions through vendor adoption, research integration, and clinical education.

Criteria for identifying biomarker opportunities

  1. Is it transformational? 
    Does it address a significant medical biomarker need with a considerable impact on public health? Does it address a critical gap in the biomarker qualification/validation process?
  2. Is it translational? 
    Will the result improve the objectivity of metrics used in multicenter studies, or adoption into clinical care?
  3. Is it feasible? 
    Can the result be achieved in 3-5 years with a likelihood of achieving the expected outcome?
  4. Is it practical? 
    Does it leverage existing resources and/or warrant access to RSNA resources and support?
  5. Is it collaborative?
    Would it benefit from QIBA’s multi-stakeholder approach and is it feasible under QIBA’s policies?

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact our staff at qiba@rsna.org.