The Radiology Quantitative Imaging Laboratory

The Department of Radiology, in collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Clinical Cancer Center (MCWCC) Clinical Trials Office, supports the assessment of tumor response to therapy guided by board certified radiologists. This initiative, named the Quantitative Imaging Lab (QIL), is co-directed by Drs. Peter LaViolette, PhD and Stephanie Vincent-Sheldon, MD, and utilizes a unique software solution originally developed at Dana Farber Cancer Center to track and maintain clinical trial response criteria adherence. The QIL currently supports 300+ active cancer clinical trials, each of which requires specific response assessments for different organs and cancer types. A Quantitative Imaging Analyst works with clinical trial managers to first identify response criteria outlined in each protocol, then registers and activates the trial in our software system. Trial Coordinators then request tumor measurements for each patient’s imaging time points, which are then completed and signed out by designated board-certified radiologists. Measurements then become available to investigators and trial administration through an auditable web-based database and interface. The QIL has supported the care of over 1500 patients on clinical trials.

The software interface provides clinical trial managers and sponsors with documented assessments, complete with screen captures of the lesions of interest, and metrics regarding response to therapy.