ABSTRACT
Bayesian approaches are different from the more conventional non-Bayesian approaches. In essence, given the observed data, after the prior distribution and the statistical model are specied, probability methods are applied to derive posterior distributions of the parameters in the model or the functions of these parameters. In multicenter trials and medical image analyses, Bayesian methods may be more natural for dealing with complex data structures. Expensive imaging studies are usually conducted with very limited sample sizes due to the high cost of each study. Consequently, several challenges surround the analysis of diagnostic and radiological data from complex multicenter clinical trials for a number of reasons.
