CTSC:TTIC.101408

Back to Collaboration:Harvard_CTSC
Action Items (details below)

1. Creating a plan for the 2009 Imaging Consortium meetings. (everybody)
2. Look over the Imaging Navigator job description and think about possible triage person candidates

1. Come up with long-term and immediate goals for XNAT
2. Look over Bill Hanlon's TIMC document

Harvard Translational Imaging Consortium Meeting Minutes October 7, 2008

In Attendance (via phone):

• Laura Alice
• Randy Gollub
• Carolyn Zyloney
• Annick D van den Abbeele
• Simon Warfield
• Gordon Harris
• Clare Tempany
• Ron Kikinis

1. Consultation Service

• Gordon Harris has completed the first consultation request that was submitted to the Imaging Consortium.

• The Consortium discussed the potential time course for which the Consortium will complete future consultation requests.
  • We should model the time course in which we complete requests after the other CTSC Consultation services, such as Genetics.
  • Triage of consultation requests will be completed quickly. It is estimated that 2-5 days should be allotted for triage.
  • The investigator who submitted the request will receive a response in approximately 2 weeks, depending on the scope of the request.
  • The consultation service is not an emergency service that can provide immediate responses to investigators.
  • Once a final time course for imaging consultation requests is agreed upon, this information should be posted on the consultation service web-page to inform investigators seeking a consult.

• The issue of assigning a person to handle the consultation requests was also raised.
  • Until a triage person can be hired, triage will be handled by the Consortium members.
  • There should be a person available from each institution to handle consultation requests.

• The consultation service is available to assist investigators in examining whether the imaging component of their study is viable and working with investigators to edit the technical/imaging-related language of their grants; it is not meant to be an editing resource for investigators. Ted Stern from the MGH Psychiatry Department runs a Scientific Writing workshop, which may be useful to help investigators edit the English of their grants and manuscripts. CTSC Central will be asked to compile a list of other editing resources, so we can direct investigators seeking editing to the appropriate place.

2. Communication with Imaging Community

• Gordon Williams will obtain the CTSC central prepared PowerPoint presentation. The Imaging Consortium will work together at a future meeting to prepare additional slides about the Imaging Consortium and its consultation service.
• Consortium members will use this PowerPoint to present the CTSC Imaging Consultation Services at the Radiology Division Heads Meetings within each institution. We should also prepare a handout with the contact information of the Consortium members to be given out at these meeting. The Consortium needs to obtain the contact information for key members of the Radiology departments who have expertise not already represented in the Imaging Consortium and could possibly assist with consults.

3. Imaging Navigator Job

• Randy has created an Imaging Navigator job description.
• The job description can be sent to the HR departments at Harvard, and all the participating institutions within the CTSC.
• Consortium members and personnel within the Radiology Departments at each institution may be able to suggest suitable job candidates.
• Annick proposed that the job be posted on the RSNA web-site.
• It was originally proposed that the Navigator be hired through Harvard. However, if the successful candidate already works at one of the participating institutions, the Navigator may be hired through that site and funds will be transferred to support the Navigator's salary.

4. Medical Imaging Informatics/XNAT/ Medical Imaging Data Transfer update

• The CTSA Image Sharing Infrastructure ProposalMeeting will be held on November 7th in Chicago

Final edits to the consultation service page are in the process of being made so the web-page will go live on the CTSC Catalyst website as soon as possible, most likely in October or November.

• Randy Gollub is looking for appropriate pictures for the top of the consultation page and will post this soon.
• Minor changes to number 3 ("What kind of consultation is not available?") on the consultation page draft were made. This change emphasizes that the consulting service is not responsible for performing image data analysis.
• The Imaging Consortium agreed that an email address should be created specifically for the consultation service. This idea has been proposed to CTSC Central.
• Creating a job description for a triage person will be discussed at the next meeting. Imaging consortium members are encouraged to propose job candidates.

2. Medical Imaging Informatics/XNAT/ Medical Imaging Data Transfer update

• Randy Gollub contacted Shawn Murphy, the CTSC Central Informatics/i2b2 expert. The CTSC Central Informatics group meets on Tuesdays from 9:30-10:30 in the Countway Library. A joint meeting between the Imaging Consortium and CTSC Informatics is being planned for a future Tuesday, on which day the Imaging Consortium will meet at Countway Library at 8:30. This meeting will provide the Imaging Consortium with the opportunity to discuss the XNAT proposal, including the creation of a central data repository and gateway issues regarding data transfer between institutions within the CTSC consortium and outside collaborating sites. Part of the goal of this meeting will be to organize a subgroup of the Imaging Consortium to work on medical imaging informatics issues such as the XNAT proposal with CTSC Central.
• The Consortium agreed that we should prioritize our immediate and long-term goals for XNAT
• During the meeting several additional points regarding an expanded vision for medical informatics infrastructure were mentioned
  • Stephen Voss from Children's Hospital mentioned that he needs support for transfering data from multi-site clinical trials that are led by investigators at Children's Hospital
  • Working with Ellen Grant (discussed during the 9.23.08 t-con)
• Bill Hanlon has created a document summarizing the current status of the TIMC project. Consortium members are asked to look over this document for the next meeting
• Randy announced that there will be a change in Principal Investigator for the BIRN project coordinating center, and the center is being moved from San Diego to Los Angeles under this different leadership. Importantly, continued funding for XNAT development will be supported by this NCRR funded grant.

3. Communication with Imaging Community
The Imaging Consortium agreed that consortium members will be responsible for reaching out to the broader imaging community at each institution within the consortium to inform the community of the consultation service, identify people with imaging expertise, and recruit possible collaborators for the consultation service. Randy Gollub will speak at the MGH ECOR (Executive Council on Research) meeting. Consortium members at each institution are asked to present at the Radiology Division Heads Meetings. Gordon Williams will share the CTSC central prepared PowerPoint presentation. The Imaging Consortium will work together to add slides about the Imaging consultation service, and this presentation will be posted on the wiki so all members of the Imaging Consortium can use it during presentations.

4. Update on pilot grants

• 1100 applications for the Pilot Grants were downloaded
• Gordon Williams reported that CTSC Central anticipates that approximately 500 will be submitted
• Submitted grants will be quickly reviewed and the 100 best proposals will be selected
• These 100 proposals will be examined in depth and the investigators submitting them will be asked for more information
• 50 proposals will be chosen to receive up to $50,000 in funding
• Investigators who submitted proposals that were considered but not funded will be able to speak to the Navigators as to why their project was not chosen

5. CTSC Meeting at ACRIN (Report from Annick)
Dan Sullivan chaired this meeting. The Harvard CTSC is unique among CTSCs because it is a consortium. If the Imaging Consortium is successful in setting up a means of transferring data across institutions, it would put us in a leadership position for CTSC National Imaging effort.

6. PET/ molecular imaging
The group agreed to put on the agenda for a future meeting a discussion of the available resources and a future plan for support. Greg Sorenson will participate in this meeting to include additional expertise. The date of this meeting is TBA.

7. Education update
The first educational course to be held through the CTSC is a two-hour long NA-MAC 3-D visualization workshop. It will be held at MGH on November 4th and BWH on October 30th. Registration has been rapid, with 7 people enrolling within the first 24 hours.