radiology-acquisition-qc

Imaging Acquisition, Reconstruction, and Measurement QC Router

Own the validity of the image as a measurement before annotation, feature extraction, model training, biological interpretation, or clinical deployment. Route to the smallest relevant modality playbook, freeze what was actually acquired and reconstructed, and return the strongest claim the verified measurement chain permits.

When to use

• "Can these acquisition/reconstruction parameters support a quantitative study?" / "这批影像的采集重建参数能不能支撑定量研究？" Series/phase/sequence selection and exclusion.
• "Can multi-center, multi-scanner, multi-protocol data be analysed together?" / "多中心、多扫描仪、多协议的数据能不能合并分析？"
• "How do I interpret artifacts, dose, phantom or test-retest results?" / "伪影、剂量、重复扫描结果怎么解释？"
• Freeze the measurement passport and claim ceiling before annotation, radiomics or model training.

Ownership

This skill owns:

• acquisition, reconstruction and post-processing provenance;
• intended series/phase/sequence/view/tracer selection and exclusion rules;
• modality-specific artifacts, physical confounders and quantitative-unit validity;
• phantom, test-retest and reconstruction-perturbation design;
• protocol/site/scanner/software shift and the acquisition-side harmonisation boundary;
• an Imaging measurement passport and PASS / CONDITIONAL / STOP measurement claim ceiling.

It does not own disease eligibility or treatment rules, de-identification, ROI annotation, radiomics/DL execution, statistical inference, clinical reader studies, mechanism interpretation, or individual-patient care.

Modes

Mode	Use when	Output emphasis
plan	Designing acquisition/QC for a proposed study	minimum defensible protocol, stronger option, repeatability and shift plan
audit	Images, DICOM exports, protocols, Methods or QC artifacts exist	provenance gaps, series-selection bias, artifacts, sensitivity and claim repair
mentor	A learner has a clear acquisition/measurement question	decision ladder, physical rationale, falsifier, teach-back or transfer prompt
interpret	Real QC, phantom, test-retest or protocol-shift results are supplied	magnitude, uncertainty, failure boundary and surviving measurement claim
writing-handoff	Acquisition science is frozen	exact Methods/Results/Supplement fields, evidence state and prohibited upgrade

Advisory and tutoring work is read-only. Create or update a passport only when the user requests a durable artifact.

Progressive routing

Resolve the active modality and measurement decision before opening references. Load only the matching file or files:

Active object	Load
CT, dual-energy/spectral CT, photon-counting CT, CT perfusion or CT-derived quantitative measurement	references/ct-acquisition-reconstruction.md
Structural/contrast-weighted MRI, DWI/ADC, DCE/DSC/ASL, quantitative mapping or MR reconstruction	references/mr-acquisition-reconstruction.md
MRS or MRSI, including metabolite ratios, fitted peaks or concentration estimates	MR core plus references/mr-spectroscopy.md
Task or resting-state BOLD fMRI, activation, connectivity or network measurement	MR core plus references/functional-mri.md
DTI, DKI, NODDI, fixel analysis, tractometry or tractography	MR core plus references/diffusion-tensor-tractography.md
PET, PET/CT, PET/MR, SPECT, SPECT/CT, SUV, kinetic or count-based measurement	references/pet-spect-acquisition-quantification.md
Ultrasound, Doppler, CEUS, strain or shear-wave elastography	references/ultrasound-ceus-elastography.md
Projection radiography, mobile radiography, mammography, DBT or synthetic 2D mammography	references/projection-radiography-mammo-dbt.md
Phantom, test-retest, longitudinal change, multicentre protocol shift, harmonisation or reconstruction sensitivity	references/phantom-test-retest-protocol-shift.md
Fluoroscopy, DSA/angiography, cone-beam CT, image-guided or interventional imaging	LOCAL_EXTENSION_REQUIRED; do not substitute the CT or projection-radiography playbook

For PET/CT load PET/SPECT plus CT; for PET/MR load PET/SPECT plus MR. For multimodal studies, load only each modality that contributes to the requested measurement claim. Add the common phantom/shift playbook when repeatability, longitudinal, cross-scanner, cross-site or absolute quantitative equivalence is material.

Fluoroscopy, DSA/angiography, cone-beam CT and interventional imaging have time-dependent dose, device, subtraction, geometry, procedural and safety contracts not represented here. Mark the route LOCAL_EXTENSION_REQUIRED and stop acquisition-specific assurance until a dedicated, locally verified playbook and responsible radiologist/physicist/procedural owner are supplied. Ordinary CT or projection-radiography rules cannot be borrowed as a substitute.

Required routing workflow

1. Name the requested measurement object and claim: visual adequacy, relative signal, absolute quantity, longitudinal change, cross-site comparability, reconstruction gain, or downstream input fitness.
2. Identify the independent hierarchy: patient -> examination/time point -> series/acquisition -> reconstruction/derived object -> frame/slice/voxel/measurement. Do not treat reconstructions, views, frames or repeated scans as independent patients.
3. Load the modality playbook and reconstruct the acquisition-to-measurement chain from supplied artifacts. Mark unsupported fields AUTHOR_INPUT_NEEDED; do not infer settings from a series description or filename.
4. Freeze the series/phase/sequence/view/tracer and reconstruction inclusion rule before outcome, model-performance or mechanism results are used to select inputs.
5. Add the common playbook when a repeatability or transport claim is intended. Distinguish a represented protocol/scanner level from a wholly unseen level and untouched evaluation from adaptation.
6. Assign PASS, CONDITIONAL or STOP to the exact measurement claim, then hand off the passport without upgrading its evidence state.

Use templates/imaging-measurement-passport.md for a requested persistent/full audit artifact.

Claim ceiling

• PASS: the acquisition, reconstruction, series rule, QC, units and applicable repeatability/ transport evidence are traceable and fit the stated claim.
• CONDITIONAL: the measurement remains usable for a narrower population, protocol, relative comparison or sensitivity-bounded claim, with the unresolved source named.
• STOP: the central measurement is not identifiable or reproducible because the wrong/unknown series, invalid units, result-dependent input selection, dominant unbroken acquisition confounding, failed QC, or an unsupported quantitative transform determines the claim.

A standardized protocol is not proof of cross-platform equivalence. Phantom repeatability is not clinical validity. Harmonisation is not a substitute for missing acquisition metadata, invalid quantification or an outcome-confounded site. A derived map or model output is not a direct physical measurement merely because it is stored as an image.

Handoffs

Requested decision	Unique owner	Send from this skill
disease pathway, endpoint, reference standard, treatment timeline or current clinical rule	radiology-clinical-domain	measurement passport, protocol limits, artifacts and claim ceiling
cohort inventory, DICOM de-identification, release or repository plan	radiology-data; governance to radiology-ethics	series/object inventory and sensitive-data flags without asserting authorization
ROI/VOI or reader annotation procedure	radiology-annotation	eligible series, geometry, resolution and artifact constraints
radiomics preprocessing/extraction	radiology-radiomics	accepted input series, units, reconstruction/shift and repeatability fields
imaging model/reconstruction network training	radiology-deep-learning	measurement target, input provenance, paired reference and protected evaluation rule
parameter comparison, ablation or method-fit judgement	radiology-method-evaluation	frozen parameter ledger and acquisition claim; numerical inference to radiology-stats
radiologist reader study, threshold-to-action or prospective workflow	radiology-translation	intended image presentation, failure/nondiagnostic states and measurement ceiling
imaging-to-pathology/omics mechanism	radiology-radiogenomics	physical contrast candidates, measurement state and technical alternatives

Output contract

Return only the parts needed for the selected mode:

1. Route and evidence state — mode, modality/subtype, requested measurement and supplied artifacts.
2. Measurement chain — acquisition -> reconstruction -> post-processing -> selected object -> value.
3. Series and hierarchy lock — included/excluded objects, unit and repeated-measure structure.
4. Coverage and disposition denominators — eligible, acquired, exported/received, QC-assessed, accepted, nondiagnostic and excluded counts at the declared grain, with reconciled reasons.
5. QC and physical-confounder map — artifact, likely effect, evidence, test and disposition.
6. Repeatability/shift read — when applicable, represented/unseen levels, raw primary analysis, adaptation status and sensitivity.
7. Claim verdict — PASS / CONDITIONAL / STOP, allowed wording, prohibited upgrade and smallest next action.
8. Handoff — exact fields and unresolved assumptions for the unique receiving owner.

Boundaries

• Do not infer a scanner setting, dose, contrast/tracer exposure, sequence, reconstruction, QC pass or quantitative unit from convention.
• Do not prescribe or alter an individual patient's examination, contrast, radiation, diagnosis or treatment. Local protocol approval, radiation safety and equipment acceptance remain with qualified radiologists, technologists, medical physicists and institutional governance.
• Do not run a reconstruction, modify source images, or persist a passport unless the requested outcome authorizes that action.
• Exact standards, profiles and practice parameters are versioned and jurisdiction-dependent. Verify the current authoritative artifact and applicability before asserting conformance.
• Fluoroscopy, DSA/angiography, cone-beam CT and interventional imaging are LOCAL_EXTENSION_REQUIRED; this skill has no dedicated contract for them and must not upgrade a generic CT or X-ray review into modality- or procedure-specific assurance.