The American College of Radiology is linking up with clinical experts across a variety of medical specialties to take on the coronavirus, piloting a new COVID-19 Imaging Research Registry.
ACR’s Center for Research and Innovation said sites participating in the project will contribute demographic information, signs and symptoms data, imaging exams, lab tests and patient outcomes.
The organization’s Data Science Institute and the Society for Thoracic Radiology are also collaborating on the repository, which will share information with existing COVID-19 registries and datasets, ACR announced Monday. The Radiological Society of North America launched its own COVID imaging repository back in March.
“The data registry will integrate imaging and clinical data, thus enabling investigators to address crucial questions related to the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with COVID-19 through collaborative efforts,” said STR President Jane P. Ko, MD. “The ultimate goal is to aid patients affected by this emerging disease.”
No individually identifiable information will be collected in order to ensure the registry falls under HIPAA's dataset regulations. Adults and pediatric patients tested for COVID-19 on Jan. 1 or later with at least one imaging exam may be included.
According to the announcement, the data will also help develop and test artificial intelligence algorithms designed to predict disease severity across multiple patient populations.
“We are thrilled to work with our participating sites to empower our members and their radiology practices and help improve the quality of care for these patients,” said ACR Chief Research Officer Etta D. Pisano, MD.
Sign up to contribute data to the COVID-19 Imaging Research Registry here.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.