American College of Radiology

Website: http://www.acr.org

The 30,000 members of the American College of Radiology (ACR) include radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, interventional radiologists, and nuclear medicine physicians. CIP is working with this organization to address a factor that can limit the value of imaging in clinical trials: a lack of consistency in protocols across multiple study sites. Together, CIP and ACR are developing guidelines for acquiring images from each type of tool, starting with CT, to maximize imaging efficacy for clinical trials.

In addition, CIP has leveraged the resources of ACR by initiating and supporting ACRIN (www.acrin.org) clinical trials of diagnostic imaging and image-guided technologies. ACRIN’s trials, which include NLST and the National CT Colonography Trial, address the major applications of imaging to cancer care, including screening, diagnosis and staging, image-guided treatment, and measuring response to treatment. ACRIN’s trials are designed to help worthwhile technologies reach clinical practice more quickly, and the research network collaborates with patient advocacy groups, foundations, and representatives of industry and insurers to meet this goal.