Establishment and Results of a Magnetic Resonance Quality Assurance Program for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium

Robert V. Mulkern, Peter Forbes, Kevin Dewey, Stravoula Osganian, Maureen Clark, Sharon Wong, Uma Ramamurthy, Larry Kun, Tina Young Poussaint

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rationale and Objectives: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is used to assess brain tumor response to therapies, and a MR quality assurance (QA) program is necessary for multicenter clinical trials employing imaging. This study was performed to determine overall variability of quantitative imaging metrics measured with the American College of Radiology (ACR) phantom among 11 sites participating in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) Neuroimaging Center (NIC) MR QA program. Materials and Methods: An MR QA program was implemented among 11 participating PBTC sites and quarterly evaluations of scanner performance for seven imaging metrics defined by the ACR were sought and subject to statistical evaluation over a 4.5-year period. Overall compliance with the QA program, means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation (CV) for the quantitative imaging metrics were evaluated. Results: Quantitative measures of the seven imaging metrics were generally within ACR recommended guidelines for all sites. Compliance improved as the study progressed. Intersite variabilities, as gauged by CV for slice thickness and geometric accuracy, imaging parameters that influence size or positioning measurements in tumor studies, were on the order of 10% and 1%, respectively. Conclusions: Although challenging to establish, MR QA programs within the context of PBTC multisite clinical trials when based on the ACR MR phantom program can indicate sites performing below acceptable image quality levels and establish levels of precision through instrumental variabilities that are relevant to quantitative image analyses (eg, tumor volume changes).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1099-1110
Number of pages12
JournalAcademic radiology
Volume15
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2008

Keywords

  • American College of Radiology
  • Magnetic resonance
  • pediatric brain tumor
  • quality assurance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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