Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance

qiba-logo

We are committed to transforming patient care by making radiology a more quantitative science.

In 2007, RSNA organized the Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance® (QIBA) to unite researchers, healthcare professionals and industry to advance quantitative imaging and the use of imaging biomarkers in clinical trials and clinical practice.

The initiative includes:

  • Collaboration to identify needs, barriers and solutions to create consistent, reliable, valid and achievable quantitative imaging results across imaging platforms, clinical sites, and time.
  • Accelerating development and adoption of hardware and software standards to achieve accurate and reproducible quantitative results from imaging methods.

QIBA projects and activities have been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract Nos. HHSN268201000050C, HHSN268201300071C and HHSN268201500021C.

What is quantitative imaging?

Quantitative imaging is the extraction of quantifiable features from medical images for the assessment of normal or the severity, degree of change, or status of a disease, injury, or chronic condition relative to normal.

Quantitative imaging develops, standardizes and optimizes:

  • Anatomical, functional and molecular imaging acquisition protocols
  • Data analyses
  • Display methods
  • Reporting structures

These features permit the validation of accurately and precisely obtained image-derived metrics with anatomically and physiologically relevant parameters, including treatment response and outcome, and the use of such metrics in research and patient care.

QIBA mission

QIBA seeks to improve the value and practicality of quantitative imaging biomarkers by reducing variability across devices, sites, patients and time.

QIBA organization

QIBA has advanced through the generous commitment of volunteer committee members from academia, medical device, pharmaceutical and other business sectors and government.

There are four modality-based Coordinating Committees, including Q-CT, Q-MR, Q-NM and Q-US. Twenty-two Biomarker Committees include:

  • CT
    • CT Angiography
    • CT Volumetry
    • Lung Density
    • Small Lung Nodule
  • MR
    • Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) – {EIBIR supported}
    • Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced (DCE) MRI
    • Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast (DSC) MRI
    • Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) MRI
    • Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) MRI
    • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
    • Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE)
    • Proton Density Fat Fraction (PDFF) – {ISMRM supported} 
    • Musculoskeletal (MSK)
  • NM
    • PET Myocardial Blood Flow
    • FDG-PET/CT
    • Quantifying Dopamine Transporters with 123 Iodine Labeled Ioflupane in Neurodegenerative Diseases (I-123)
    • PET-Amyloid
    • Technetium-99m for body, oncology and immunology (TC99m)
  • US
    • Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS)
    • Pulse-Echo Quantitative Ultrasound (PEQUS) – {AIUM supported}
    • Ultrasound Shear Wave Speed (SWS)
    • Ultrasound Volume Blood Flow (VBF) – {AIUM supported}

Each committee has specific responsibilities for its respective modalities or disease-based approach, and is open to interested persons.

View the QIBA organizational chart.

QIBA collaborations

QIBA works closely with the European Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (EIBALL), whose mission statement is "to facilitate imaging biomarker development and standardization, and promote their use in clinical trials and in clinical practice by collaboration with specialist societies, international standards agencies, and trials organizations to develop a network of excellence."

EIBALL established a Biomarkers Inventory to raise awareness of existing biomarkers and promote appropriate use by researchers and trialists.

QIBA also works with Japan-QIBA, whose goal is to facilitate imaging biomarker development, standardization and promote their use in clinical trials and in clinical practice.

Contact us

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

QIBA resources

Profiles and protocols

Learn about Profiles and protocols currently being developed by QIBA biomarker committees.

Process

Understand the defined process for developing and adopting standards-based biomarkers.

QIBA Wiki

Access the QIBA Wiki to collaborate on materials and ongoing QIBA activities.

Metrology papers

Learn about efforts to establish uniform terminology and methodology guidelines for research use and clinical practice.

QIBA meetings

Review agendas and presentations from RSNA and QIBA working meetings and find upcoming dates.

Quantitative Imaging Data Warehouse (QIDW)

An open source image archive including metadata collected across the MR, CT, NM and US modalities for testing, calibration and performance evaluation of scanners, workstations and software packages.

QIBA Conformance Certification Services

Access services that allow clinical sites, scanner vendors and analysis software vendors to verify conformance with QIBA Profile specifications.