A good practice–compliant clinical trial imaging management system for multicenter clinical trials: Development and validation study

Abstract

Background: With the rapid increase in utilization of imaging endpoints in multicenter clinical trials, the amount of data and workflow complexity have also increased. A Clinical Trial Imaging Management System (CTIMS) is required to comprehensively support imaging processes in clinical trials. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a guidance protocol in 2018 for appropriate use of medical imaging in accordance with many regulations including the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines. Existing research on CTIMS, however, has mainly focused on functions and structures of systems rather than regulation and compliance. Objective: We aimed to develop a comprehensive CTIMS to meet the current regulatory guidelines and various required functions. We also aimed to perform computerized system validation focusing on the regulatory compliance of our CTIMS. Methods: Key regulatory requirements of CTIMS were extracted thorough review of many related regulations and guidelines including International Conference on Harmonization-GCP E6, FDA 21 Code of Federal Regulations parts 11 and 820, Good Automated Manufacturing Practice, and Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium. The system architecture was designed in accordance with these regulations by a multidisciplinary team including radiologists, engineers, clinical trial specialists, and regulatory medicine professionals. Computerized system validation of the developed CTIMS was performed internally and externally. Results: Our CTIMS (AiCRO) was developed based on a two-layer design composed of the server system and the client system, which is efficient at meeting the regulatory and functional requirements. The server system manages system security, data archive, backup, and audit trail. The client system provides various functions including deidentification, image transfer, image viewer, image quality control, and electronic record. Computerized system validation was performed internally using a V-model and externally by a global quality assurance company to demonstrate that AiCRO meets all regulatory and functional requirements. Conclusions: We developed a Good Practice–compliant CTIMS—AiCRO system—to manage large amounts of image data and complexity of imaging management processes in clinical trials. Our CTIMS adopts and adheres to all regulatory and functional requirements and has been thoroughly validated.