Guidelines and Standards in Imaging Research
This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Wellbeing and SDG 9: Industry & Innovation.
The “Guidelines and Standards in Imaging Research” is an initiative aimed at consolidating and promoting authoritative guidance, standards, and consensus recommendations that define best practices across the imaging sciences. As imaging continues to transform biomedical research and clinical care, the need for harmonized methodologies, transparent reporting, and reproducible workflows has never been greater. This curated collection will serve as a central platform for the publication and dissemination of high-quality, evidence-based guidelines that advance rigor, reliability, and impact in imaging research and its translation to clinical applications.
Imaging is a uniquely multidisciplinary field that integrates advances in physics, engineering, computation, biology, and medicine. The rapid pace of innovation spanning novel imaging modalities, acquisition techniques, quantitative image analysis, radiomics, and artificial intelligence creates both opportunities and challenges for maintaining consistency and reproducibility. Disparities in imaging protocols, data processing pipelines, and reporting standards can limit comparability across studies and hinder large-scale collaborations. “The Imaging Research: Standards and Guidelines” Collection aims to address these challenges by providing a trusted, open-access repository of methodological and technical standards endorsed by expert groups and professional societies worldwide.
The collection will encompass a broad range of guideline types, including but not limited to:
- Technical and acquisition standards, such as harmonization of MRI, CT, PET, and ultrasound protocols;
- Data management and analysis recommendations, including frameworks for preprocessing, feature extraction, and machine learning validation;
- Reporting and transparency guidelines, extending principles from established frameworks such as CONSORT, PRISMA, and STARD to imaging-specific applications;
- Ethical, regulatory, and governance guidance, addressing responsible data sharing, patient privacy, and the use of AI in clinical decision-making;
- Disease- or modality-specific consensus statements, providing standardized approaches for imaging biomarkers and outcome measures.
In creating this resource, npj Imaging reaffirms its commitment to advancing methodological excellence and promoting open science in imaging research. The Guidelines Collection will not only support individual investigators and research groups but will also enable harmonization across multi-site studies and consortia, ultimately accelerating the translation of imaging discoveries into clinical benefit.
This ongoing, living collection will remain open for new submissions, reflecting the evolving landscape of imaging technologies and standards. Through this initiative, npj Imaging aims to establish a lasting foundation for high-quality, reproducible, and ethically responsible imaging science worldwide.
Editors
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Editorial Team on npj Imaging
The guidelines will be reviewed and edited by the Editorial Team of npj Imaging. For more information, see: https://www.nature.com/npjimaging/editors
