Implementing diffusion-weighted MRI for body imaging in prospective multicentre trials: current considerations and...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Oncology
• Biomarker Development

Background:

• Diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) is valuable for tumor detection, staging, and response assessment in body imaging.
• Quantitative evaluation of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is necessary for prognosis and treatment response monitoring.
• Current variability in DW-MRI acquisition and analysis methods hinders multicenter trial implementation and ADC biomarker utility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review factors contributing to ADC variability in diffusion-weighted MRI.
• To discuss hardware, software, and quality control measures for standardized protocols.
• To outline data handling and procedural considerations for multicenter trials.

Main Methods:

• Review of technical and biological performance factors affecting ADC values.
• Discussion of multi-vendor platform standardization challenges.
• Consideration of data collection, archiving, analysis, and quality assurance processes.

Main Results:

• Variability in acquisition and analysis methodologies prevents comparability of ADC values across centers.
• Standardized protocols are needed to address hardware and software considerations for multi-vendor platforms.
• Implementing quality assurance and control is vital for reproducible results.

Conclusions:

• Standardized acquisition and analysis enable quantification of imaging biomarkers in multicenter trials.
• Establishing measurement precision within a multicenter context is essential for biomarker validation.
• A traceable data repository promotes further research and development of ADC as a biomarker.