Data Analysis Strategies in Medical Imaging

Radiographic imaging continues to be one of the most effective and clinically useful tools within oncology. Sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) has allowed for detailed quantification of radiographic characteristics of tissues using predefined engineered algorithms or deep learning methods. Precedents in radiology as well as a wealth of research studies hint at the clinical relevance of these characteristics. However, there are critical challenges associated with the analysis of medical imaging data. While some of these challenges are specific to the imaging field, many others like reproducibility and batch effects are generic and have already been addressed in other quantitative fields such as genomics. Here, we identify these pitfalls and provide recommendations for analysis strategies of medical imaging data including data normalization, development of robust models, and rigorous statistical analyses. Adhering to these recommendations will not only improve analysis quality, but will also enhance precision medicine by allowing better integration of imaging data with other biomedical data sources.

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