Activities for Standardization of Viscoelastic Imaging

Abstract

Images acquired by medical diagnostic imaging devices are used as indicators for staging, distinguishing between benign and malignant tumors, and evaluating treatment techniques and drugs. The pixel values of images are more effective as biomarkers when the dependency on vendors, devices, cites, patients, and time are low, and the measurement repeatability and reproducibility are high. Radiological Society of North America (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. In Japan, the Japan radiological society (JRS) has organized Japan-QIBA (J-QIBA) and is working in collaboration with QIBA. This paper introduces activities for standardization of elastography that images the viscoelastic distribution of biological soft tissue.