Acronyms are everywhere. We use them ubiquitously at work, on social media, and throughout healthcare and the life science. In some ways, as with Morse code or musical notation, acronyms make up a language of their own. And, TBH, it’s important to know the difference between a SPOC and a SPECT. (LOL.)
Read on for a useful list of common acronyms and abbreviations that apply to imaging. Feel free to take a screenshot or print it out and use it as a reference when you need it.
|
AE |
Adverse Event |
| ACR |
American College of Radiology |
| ACRIN |
American College of Radiology Imaging Network |
| ALARA | As low as reasonably achievable - Principle for a radiation dose |
| BICR | Blinded Independent Central Review |
| BOR | Best Overall Response |
| CRA | Contract Research Associate |
| CRF | Case Report Form |
| CRO | Contract Research Organization |
| CT |
Computed Tomography |
| CTN | Clinical Trial Network |
| CR | Complete Response |
| DCE-MRI | Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI |
| DXA/DEXA | Dual-X-ray Absorptiometry or Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry - Spectral imaging of BMD, the most widely used bone density measurement technology |
| DICOM |
Digital imaging and communication |
| DMC |
Data Monitoring Committee - A group of independent scientists who monitor the safety and scientific integrity of a clinical trial |
| DSMB |
Data and Safety Monitoring Board |
| DWI |
Diffusion Weighted Imaging - A form of MR imaging often used for tumor characterization to measure cellular tissues |
| EANM |
European Association of Nuclear Medicine |
| EMA |
European Medicines Agency |
| FDA |
US Food and Drug Administration |
| FDG |
Flurodeoxyglucose |
| FOV |
Field of View |
| GCP |
Good Clinical Practice - International ethical and scientific quality standards for designing, conducting, monitoring, recording, auditing, analyzing, and reporting studies |
| GEP-NET |
Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor |
| HIPAA |
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) — Established national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health plans, and employers |
| ICL |
Imaging Core Lab |
| ICRO |
Imaging Contract Research Organization |
| IRB |
Institutional Review Board — An independent group of professionals designated to review and approve the clinical protocol, informed consent forms, study advertisements, and patient brochures, to ensure that the study is safe and effective for human participation. It is also the IRB's responsibility to ensure that the study adheres to the FDA's regulations. |
| iRECIST |
Modified RECIST guidelines for immunotherapy |
| mRECIST |
Modified RECIST |
| MRI |
Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
| MRI Sequences | A number of radiofrequency pulses/gradients resulting in a set of images with a particular appearance (T1, T2, T2* [star], FSE – Fast spin echo, etc.) |
| NE | Not Evaluable |
| NET | Neuroendocrine Tumor |
| ORR | Objective Response Rate |
| PACS | Picture Archiving and Communications Systems |
| PD | Progressive Disease |
| PERCIST | Positron Emission Tomography Response Criteria in Solid Tumors |
| PET | Positron Emission Tomography |
| PFS | Progression Free Survival |
| PI | Principal Investigator |
| PR | Partial Response |
| PRRT | Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy - A form of targeted radiopharmaceutical cancer therapy |
| QC | Quality Control - Verification of images against given criteria. May be automatic or manual |
| RANO | Response Assessment Neuro-Oncology |
| RECIST | Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors - Used to measure tumor size in cancer patients |
| ROI | Region of Interest |
| SD | Stable Disease |
| SNMMI | Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
| SPECT | Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography - Nuclear medicine procedure using a gamma camera to provide cross-sectional 3D imaging information |
| SUV | Standard Uptake Value - a dimensionless ratio of the concentration of radiopharmaceutical in a volume of tissues in microcuries |
| TAT | Turn Around Time |
| ToF | TIme of Flight |
| TTP | Time to Progression |
| TTR | Time to Response |
| VNA | Vendor Neutral Archive - a 21st-century medical imaging technology that allows diverse images to be stored in a standard format |
| VOI | Volume of Interest |
Many of our posts define the above acronyms and detail the roles they play in clinical trial imaging. A few months back, we discussed the importance of imaging in clinical trial CROs — or ICROs (Imaging Contract Research Organizations). And ICYMI, please catch up on RANO, RECIST, and PRRT, FWIW.
Footnotes:
WDTM (What does that mean?); TBH (To be honest); LOL (Laugh out loud); ICYMI (In case you missed it); FWIW (For what it’s worth).