Statistical Issues in Testing Conformance with the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) Profile Claims

Published

April 1, 2016

Author(s)

Huaiyu H. Chen-Mayer, Nancy Obuchowski

Abstract

A major initiative of the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) is to develop standards-based documents called “Profiles”, which describe one or more technical performance claims for a given imaging modality. The term “actor” denotes any entity (device, software, person) whose performance must meet certain specifications in order for the claim to be met. The objective of this paper is to present the statistical issues in testing actors’ conformance with the specifications. In particular, we present the general rationale and interpretation of the claims, the minimum requirements for testing whether an actor achieves the performance requirements, the study designs used for testing conformity, and the statistical analysis plan. We use three examples to illustrate the process: apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in solid tumors measured by MRI, change in Perc 15 as a biomarker for the progression of emphysema, and percent change in solid tumor volume by CT as a biomarker for lung cancer progression.

Citation

Academic Radiology

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

QIBA, quantitative imaging biomarker, precision, repeatability, bias, total deviation index, linearity

Citation

Chen-Mayer, H. and Obuchowski, N. (2016), Statistical Issues in Testing Conformance with the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) Profile Claims, Academic Radiology (Accessed April 24, 2026)

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