CTSC:TTIC.100609

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Agenda:

Harvard Translational Imaging Consortium Meeting Minutes October 6, 2009

In attendance:

1. Update on imaging consultation requests

2. Feedback from ACRIN

The feedback after the educational session was very good. A comment that came several times is that there is a real need for training RA, Study Coordinator et all the people involved in clinical trial that are not MDs or PhDs.
During the meeting, there were a lot of emphasis of quantitative imaging and standardization. DCE-MRI was also a hot topics because it is the less standardized technique so far.
During the informatics session, there was a presentation of a caBIG Annotation Imaging and Markup AIM. It is first project of its kind to propose/create a “standard” means of adding information /knowledge to an image in a clinical environment in order to create a future in which image content can be easily and automatically searched.

3. Education program

Ron insisted that the way to get more consultations is to start our education program. Training of the residents in quantitative imaging and Slicer hands-on workshops would be a good start. Valerie and Jeff will start planning Slicer demonstration at each hospital.
Stephan insisted that in the CHB oncology group, there is also a need for more training in imaging for CRA, study coordinators etc.
Annick got the same request from image analysts at DFCI that would like to get more training on the basis of imaging.
Jeff has a couple of lecture on imaging, very basic that he circulated a couple of months ago. He was in touch with the clinical trial office at DFCI and they were very interested. The same material could be used for CRA, people working in IRB etc. The material presented at the ACRIN meeting is not basic enough for this audience.
Ron also suggested to post a series of images with different problems and build a tutorial about it.

4. MRI safety

The MRI safety tutorial is finished, as well as the white paper.
Valerie is still collecting some risk language, consent forms etc from the different institutions.
Valerie will create a new training section in our WIKI page with the material about MRI safety, quantitative imaging and Radiation safety.

5. Radiation safety/ dose safety

The creation of a tutorial about radiation/dose safety is the next project now that the MRI tutorial is finished.
Jeff already met with the safety officers of the different institutions to standardize the risk language for oncology trials. It is a group of people that can be considered as experts and need to be involved in this project.

6. Examples to support pilot grant proposal

Randy reminded the members to send Gordon Williams examples to support our proposal for funding pilot grant for scanning.
- Simon and Annick agreed that it is very important, funding is always a key, investigators welcome advices on using imaging for their research but then always asked where the money will be coming from.

7. ARRA supplement

The first meeting of the informatics subgroup is Tuesday October 6, 2009 at 10:30 am. The goal is to identify the key personnel from each institution who is knowledgeable about PACS, data, scanners etc.

8. DCE-MRI

For the RNSA presentation and the creation of a Slicer tutorial for DCE-MRI, there is still a need for better data sets.
- Bob has some lung data with good resolution that could be used. Lung is also interesting because you need to do a registration before doing the analysis of the data.
At CHB, there is a real interest in DCE-MRI because so far they do not have a good set of protocols. They are also interested in DCE-CT at very low dose (the model should be easier).
Valerie will help coordinate a small workgroup on DCE-MRI, then they will make a presentation to the whole group.