The Centers of Quantitative Imaging Excellence (CQIE) program was developed in response to a solicitation for proposals issued in December 2009 by SAIC-Frederick on behalf of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  The primary objective of the CQIE Program is to establish a resource of ‘trial ready’ sites within the NCI Cancer Centers Program that are capable of conducting clinical trials in which there is an integral molecular and/or functional advanced imaging endpoint.  In support of this objective, the CQIE program is designed to qualify sites in the following quantitative imaging methodologies:

BRAIN IMAGING	BODY IMAGING
Volumetric MR	Volumetric CT
DCE-MR	DCE-MR
Static and Dynamic PET-PET/CT	Static and Dynamic PET-PET/CT

The CQIE Program was developed with input from and collaboration with the broader scientific community including experts associated with ACRIN, AAPM, SNM and RSNA/QIBA.  Participating cancer centers will undergo an initial qualification assessment and then annual requalification for an additional 3 year period. The qualification requirements include annual phantom scans, clinical test images (MR and PET), and a standardized set of routine QC activities.

Currently, CQIE participation is open only to the 59 NCI-designated Cancer Centers. For implementation purposes the cancer centers were divided into two groups. Initial qualification of the cancer centers composing Group 1 began in August 2010. Initial qualification of the Group 2 cancer centers began in February 2011 and should be completed by mid-July 2011.