AAPM Committee Tree

The primary charge of the working group on the physics of quantitative imaging (WGPQI) is to provide expertise and guidance on the medical physics aspects of quantitative diagnostic imaging.  The WG will leverage the expertise of AAPM members in the physics of diagnostic imaging modalities regarding, but not limited to, image acquisition, reconstruction, post-processing, and computer-aided analyses as they contribute to the uses of quantitative imaging (QI) in research and clinical practice. This will not include the discovery, validation, or translation of imaging biomarkers themselves but will provide the methods to estimate their quantitative magnitude.

The expected products of this WGPQI will be the development of guidance documents (quantitative physics imaging document, QPID) that provide information on the relevant metrology of quantitative measurements, including but not limited to reports of measurement 'accuracy' (e.g., linearity, bias, variance), and repeatability and reproducibility for QI modalities. QPID will include relevant current information (e.g., from literature) regarding QI methodologies, including QI tools and measurement techniques, as well as report any potential gaps in knowledge. Information reported will provide guidance on technical aspects of QI including image acquisition, reconstruction, post-processing, analytical tools, and approaches for specific QI tasks and test conditions.

The WGPQI will work within the AAPM with the different modality-specific subcommittees of IPC and their working groups, as appropriate. For the most part, the WGPQI will also liaise externally with clinical radiology and specialty societies, which may include, but are not limited to, biomarkers of interest for which these recommendations are to be developed. The WGPQI will also work, as relevant, with the Imaging Informatics Subcommittee (IISC) and the Imaging Data Standards and Harmonization Subcommittee (IDSH) on recommendations for the communication and storage mechanisms for quantitative imaging estimations. The WGPQI will also work with the Working Group for facilitating the adoption of IPC TG Reports (WGATG) and the system manufacturers, via their representative association (e.g., AdvaMed), to encourage the inclusion of features (e.g., reconstruction kernels) on systems to aid in the image formation process for quantitative estimates and to seek input on the feasibility of the draft recommendations. It is expected that QPIDs may be published independently as open-access guidance documents, or be included within AAPM reports (e.g., TG reports) for co-parented activities.