The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has expressed its support for the new framework by the U.K.'s Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust for dealing with health-related findings in research. The initiative highlights the role of medical imaging.
RCR said it believes the new framework will help medical researchers and others gain a fuller understanding of studies that have potential health implications for participants. The framework will also help researchers recognize the findings as the source of potential costs, RCR said.
Imaging is the most likely scenario for unanticipated findings, and this understanding led to the development of comprehensive guidelines for members on the management of incidental findings detected during research imaging, commented Dr. Fiona Gilbert, chair of the Clinical Radiology Academic Committee.
The guidance addressed a previous lack of consensus within the imaging research community as to how health-related findings should be handled, Gilbert noted.
