Clinical Validation of DeepQ-DCE – Quantitative Ultrafast DCE-MRI for Prostate Imaging

QMRI Tech S.r.l. is seeking clinical and research partners for the prospective validation of DeepQ-DCE, a proprietary quantitative ultrafast Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) framework initially developed for prostate imaging.

DeepQ-DCE treats ultrafast DCE as a quantitative core measurement and uses advanced pharmacokinetic modelling and physics-based deep learning to generate proprietary quantitative biomarkers, voxel-wise parametric maps and lesion- and patient-level summaries. It is designed as a quantitative layer complementary to standard multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and biparametric MRI (bpMRI)-based artificial intelligence tools.

A first pilot study involving 24 patients has been completed using an ultrafast DCE protocol in a cohort with PI-RADS ≥3 lesions undergoing biopsy. The pilot showed a statistically significant association between DeepQ-DCE biomarkers and biopsy outcome, a monotonic trend with Gleason Grade Group, and a reduction in biopsy-negative lesions classified as positive on standard imaging when DeepQ-DCE was added to mpMRI. Detailed methodology and numerical results can be shared separately under confidentiality.

The next development step is prospective validation. We are looking for hospitals, university hospitals, research institutes and imaging centres with expertise in prostate MRI and access to patients undergoing clinically indicated prostate MRI and biopsy or histopathological assessment.

Potential collaboration may include prospective studies at imaging-enabled sites, protocol harmonisation, MRI acquisition, quality control, reproducibility assessment, clinical and pathology data collection, central quantitative analysis, data harmonisation, scientific interpretation and joint dissemination of results. The collaboration may also address contrast-dose optimisation and the integration of quantitative imaging biomarkers with laboratory, molecular, pathology and clinical variables.

The proposed staged pathway is: technical and data feasibility → a focused prospective pilot → broader multicentre and multimodal validation. QMRI Tech is also interested in jointly developing national or European research proposals to support this validation pathway.