CTSC:TTIC.102108

Back to Collaboration:Harvard_CTSC
Action Items (details below)

Harvard Translational Imaging Consortium Meeting Minutes October 7, 2008

In Attendance (via phone):

• Randy Gollub
• Carolyn Zyloney
• Sarah McMordie
• Bill Hanlon
• Gordon Williams

1. Report from the CTSA Working Group Bi-Monthly Call (October 20th, 2008)

• Dan Sullivan led the t-con. Ron Kikinis, Bill Hanlon, and Randy Gollub were present and represented the Harvard CTSC.

• Currently the TIMC (tumor imaging metrics core) offers its data analysis services to investigators within the DFHCC.
  • There is interest from other CTSCs at non-Harvard sites in the tumor core and how it runs its business.
  • Before we proceed with sharing the strategies employed by the TIMC with the world, the DFHCC will decide what information they wish to make publicly available.

• Bill Hanlon has been invited to present information about the TIMC at the RSNA meeting.

• One topic of discussion at the CTSA t-con was the idea of setting up standardized measurements and standardizing the cost of image acquisition and analysis.

• IRAT, the Imaging Response Assessment Team, has the goal of providing funding to encourage clinical collaboration between imaging scientists and oncologic investigators at Cancer Centers to identify new oncologic imaging research opportunities in clinical trials that warrant multi-center clinical investigations and integrate imaging data as potential biomarkers or candidate surrogate markers in clinical therapeutic trials. IRAT is entering its third year of funding, but will no longer receive its funding from the National Cancer Institute, and may look to the CTSCs as a source of funding.

• Few other CTSCs have as big an imaging presence as the Harvard CTSC because our Imaging group has superior funding and is well organized. This puts the Harvard CTSC in a leadership position.

• Bill Hanlon has been invited to the November 7th meeting in Chicagoland.

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

• The Consortium discussed and proposed this as our plan and Carolyn will verify that it fits in with the Biostatistics and Genetics CTSC group's consultation service:
  • 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 Carolyn who will forward requests to the Consortium members.
  • There is personnel available from each institution (see the table on the consultation service wiki page 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 polish the technical/imaging-related language of their grants; it is not meant to be an editing resource for investigators. Randy Gollub pointed out that Ted Stern from the MGH Psychiatry Department runs a Scientific Writing workshop, which is one example of the kind of resources that may be useful to help investigators polish their scientific writing skills. Carolyn has sent an official request to CTSC Central 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 the next 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 updated the final Imaging Navigator job description. Please suggest all desired edits to this job description ASAP as it will be sent to HR and posted this week.
• 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. Carolyn has contacted RSNA to set up a job advertisement.
• 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.
  • There is a proposal for additional funding from NCRR and possibly NIBIB to support the costs of developing medical imaging informatics infrastructure.
  • The group suggested that Bill Hanlon, Ron Kikinis, and Ramin Khorasani (BWH), represent the Harvard CTSC and BWH at this meeting. Charles Guttman (BWH) is also attending.
  • The Imaging Consortium will finalize the funding for travel to this meeting and who the representatives for the Harvard CTSC will be during next week's t-con.

• The RSNA meeting for the CTSA is scheduled for December 2nd.

• Doug MacFadden has invited the Imaging Consortium to one of the CTSC IT Central Group meetings. The tentative date for this meeting is October 28th from 9:30 - 10:30, pending confirmation from key members of the Imaging Consortium. The Imaging Consortium's weekly meeting will immediately precede will meet in Harvard's Countway Library from 8:30 - 9:30.

• The Consortium decided to focus on a case-by-case basis instead of a global plan for designing the integration of medical image informatics with i2b2. It is hoped that each case will help refine i2b2 until it is universally useful.
  • Bill Hanlon mentioned that the TIMC has been working with B.I. to improve access to medical imaging data. He asked if he should change his approach to fit into the broad scheme of data exchange planned by the CTSC. The Consortium encouraged him to proceed on the specifics, noting that it fits into the case-by-case plan for i2b2/Catalyst development.

• Randy met with Dr. Smoller, the head of the Genetics Consultation program, to describe an overview of the medical imaging informatics plans.
  • Dr. Smoller responded positively. Together, they envisioned a way to further develop the infrastructure to explore genotype/phenotype relationships with medical imaging data.
  • i2b2 allows for making queries about diagnoses and other clinical data.
  • This search capability could be expanded so investigators can identify clinical scans that could be used for secondary research.

• The group further discussed the importance of high quality archiving of medical imaging data into XNAT repositories.
  • It will require maintenance of accurate information regarding image acquisition and software.

• A tremendous amount of information can be obtained from intelligent mining of the DICOM header. However, software tools have to be customized to read the header file, put data away, and provide supplemental information that may not be in the header.

• The Consortium agreed that addressing HIPAA issues early on is key.

5. Education update

• The first educational courses have been posted for registration.
• Additional courses will be planned at a future meeting of the Imaging Consortium.