Imaging Management Center

The UC Imaging Management Center, led by Dr. Achala Vagal, provides a full range of imaging biomarkers, as well as protocol design and centralized, independent reading. Our highly experienced team is composed of neuroradiologists, MRI physicists, dedicated post processing technologists, and program and project staff with extensive understanding of the optimal functioning of imaging management and its critical role in a study or trial involving imaging.  

The UC Imaging Management Center has a long-standing reputation of delivering extensive collaborative leadership and expert imaging interpretation customized toward any unique image acquisition feature of trial design as well as endpoint imaging measurements. We have been involved for over 20 years as imaging core lab in support of multiple, multicenter, NIH and industry-funded clinical stroke trials and population-based studies (IMS 3, CLEAR, CLEAR-ER, PRISMS, APRISE, ERICH/GERFHS, ROSE-ICH, MOST, FASTEST, ROSE-LAWN, ERICH-Gene, APRISE-Dementia). The imaging core lab has experienced individuals who can perform necessary activities for efficient imaging management. The imaging center maintains compliance with all regulatory requirements and conduct all studies with data integrity.  

Services: 

• Expertise in clinical trial design and implementation
• Quality Assurance and centralized readings of imaging studies for multi-institutional trials maximizing accuracy and precision of image analysis
• Rapid image processing, analysis and data delivery
• Quality control with quality staff, equipment and support and ongoing continual verification to ensure standardized, high-quality and reproducible readings

Expertise: 

• Protocol Design
• Project Management
• Expert reporting, Editing and Medical Writing
• Imaging Quality Assurance
• Data Management
• Quality Control
• Qualitative and Quantitative Image Analysis

A web-based medical imaging infrastructure software platform (Ambra Health) with HIPAA and 21CFR Part 11 compliant technology and robust infrastructure is available to allow secure medical image upload, storage and transfer. This platform is designed to ensure seamless electronic integration of the large amount of imaging data along with de-identification, image routing and advanced QA edit check capabilities resulting in a significantly lower query rate and increased data accuracy. Imaging data can be stored long term with multilayered safety features for data security including inspection firewalling, protocol and application inspection, in-line intrusion protection, multimedia and voice security, security breech monitoring and notifications and environmental controls. The imaging center also has full access to the University of Cincinnati’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) initiative which offers a readily accessible hybrid CPU/GPU computing cluster, supporting the next generation of computational and data science researchers.

Advanced Imaging Analysis

Advanced imaging analysis involves the expertise in methods from multiple disciplines such as neuroscience, computer science, data science, informatics and statistics.  Some of the methods we have implemented in the past are listed below. Please contact us to inquire about additional advanced imaging analysis methods. 

• Machine Learning/Deep Learning 
  • Implementation of machine learning or deep learning models for image analysis 
• Implementation of custom algorithms for temporal or spatial feature extraction 
• Quantitative feature extraction from Regions of Interest (ROI) 
• Running multiple concurrent analyses on a high-performance computational cluster 
• Imaging Statistical Analysis  
  • Frequentist Statistics 
  • Bayesian Modelling 
  • Graph Theoretical Analyses
    
    
    
• Advanced Study Management 
  • Relational or Non-relational study database creation 
  • Creation of study data dashboard to show study progress and statistical modeling 
• Structural MRI analysis 
  • Volumetric analysis 
  • Morphometry 
  • Image registration/normalization 
  • Atlas based parcellation 
    
    
    
• Functional MRI (fMRI) analysis 
  • Task related activation mapping 
  • Resting state connectivity analysis 
    
    
    
• Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Analysis 
  • Tractography 
  • Quantitative diffusion imaging (multi-compartment modeling) 
  • Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging 
    
    
    
• Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping 
• Myelin Mapping 
• 3D modeling and mesh extraction