Steps on the Path to Clinical Translation—A British and Irish Chapter ISMRM Workshop Survey of the UK MRI Community

TL;DR

This survey explores challenges in translating quantitative MRI into clinical practice, based on feedback from UK stakeholders.

Contribution

A novel survey framework was developed to identify barriers to clinical translation of qMR from stakeholder perspectives.

Findings

Three main themes emerged: consensus, context dependency, and product profile.

Stakeholders emphasized the need for standardized terminology and validation processes.

Contextual uniqueness of clinical situations was highlighted as a key challenge.

Abstract

Our goal was to understand the barriers and challenges to clinical translation of quantitative MR (qMR) as perceived by stakeholders in the UK. We conducted an electronic survey on seven key areas related to clinical translation of qMR, developed at the BIC‐ISMRM workshop: “Steps on the path to clinical translation”. Based on the seven areas identified: (i) clinical workflow, (ii) changes in clinical practice, (iii) improving validation, (iv) standardization of data acquisition and analysis, (v) sharing of data and code, (vi) improving quality management, and (vii) end‐user engagement, a 40‐question survey was developed. Members of BIC‐ISMRM, MR‐PHYSICS, BSNR and institutional mailing lists were invited to respond to the online survey over a 5‐week period between September and October 2022. The responses were analysed via descriptive statistics of multiple‐choice questions, Likert scores and a thematic analysis of free text questions. A total of 69 responses were received from predominantly research imaging scientists (69%) in numerous centres across the UK. Three main themes were identified: (1) Consensus; the need to develop in terminology, decision making and validation; (2) Context Dependency; an appreciation of the uniqueness of each clinical situation, and (3) Product Profile; a clear description of the imaging biomarker and its intended use. Effective translation of qMR imaging and spectroscopic biomarkers to achieve their full clinical potential must address the differing needs and expectations of a wide range of stakeholders.

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