CTSC:TTIC.091608

Back to Collaboration:Harvard_CTSC
Action Items (details below)

1. Review the Imaging Consultation Request Form posted below (everybody)
2. Review the updated consultation page on the wiki (everybody)
3. Refine the list of expertise (everybody)
4. Review the draft of the Imaging Information and Analysis Liaison/Triage Consultant job description (everybody)

Harvard Translational Imaging Consortium Meeting Minutes September 9, 2008

In Attendance (via phone):

• Gordon Williams
• Bill Hanlon
• Laura Alice
• Stephan Voss
• Randy Gollub
• Clare Tempany
• Zeke Bernstein-Hanley
• Carolyn Zyloney
• Gordon Harris
• Sarah McMordie
• Ron Kikinis
• Jeff Yap
• Annick D van den Abbeele
• Bob Lenkinski
• Simon Warfield

1. Consultation Service
The draft of the Imaging Consultation web-page has been posted on this wiki. The Imaging Consortium unanimously approved of the content of this draft but with the following improvements suggested.

• Zeke and colleagues are to draft the top-level text of the Imaging consultation web-page so that it is in harmony with the other consultation web-pages on the Harvard Catalyst website.
• Zeke has created a draft of the Imaging Consultation Request Form. This document is similar to the consultation request forms already posted on the Biostatistics and Genetics consultation web-pages on the Harvard Catalyst website, but includes a list of consultation services that are specific to the Imaging group. Investigators will be able to download and submit the form. This request form will be discussed at the next imaging teleconference. The proposed web-based consultation request system with RSS feed will not be available for the first release of the consultation web-site but the Imaging Consortium still plans to develop this submission system.
• All Imaging Consortium sites are requested to refine the list of expertise at their site to include all available imaging modalities that the consortium members possess expertise in as well as any expertise in the areas of image acquisition, analysis, and experimental design.
• The Imaging Information and Analysis Liaison/Triage Consultant job description will be posted by the next teleconference for discussion.

The Imaging Consortium plans on including this consultation service web-page with the next Harvard Catalyst web-site release on October 15th.

2. Image Analysis

• Annick commented and the group agreed that image acquisition is related to its analysis and both aspects of bioimaging research are equally important.
• The wiki page should be updated to include each site's analysis expertise.
  • Randy Gollub will talk with Bruce Fishel who is an analysis expert at MGH.
  • Ron Kikinis and Clare Tempany represent the analysis expertise at BWH.
  • Simon Warfield represents the analysis expertise at Children's Hospital.
  • Gordon Harris is an analysis expert at DF/HCC (MGH)
  • The Consortium requests an update on the analysis expertise at BIDMC
• Consortium sites have strong expertise in medical image software tools, many of which were internally developed and are internationally used. Analysis tools expertise at the consortium sites include:
  • Freesurfer - MGH
  • Slicer - BWH

In addition to these tools, the consortium possesses expertise in other externally developed analysis tools.

• The consortium possesses expertise in multi-site imaging studies and imaging projects that include image acquisition at one site and analysis at another site.
• It was proposed that the web-site can include a web based repository of suggestions based on clincial scenarios ("case studies"). Further discussion of this suggestion is on the agenda for a future teleconference.
• There is the possibility that, through collaboration and working with the existing imaging analysis services at our sites, the Imaging Consortium could potentially provide image analysis services to investigators. CTSC funds will not cover this service. Further discussion is needed to outline the means of supporting the costs of this service.

3. Update on Pediatric Neuroimaging

• Stephan Voss indicated that there is a great demand for more pediatric clinical imaging research but the resources at Children's Hospital are limited. The group supports pediatric imaging acquisition at sites that have the existing infrastructure to support it.
• Dr. Ellen Grant, who has been working with pediatric neuroimaging at sites within the consortium has agreed to provide consult services at the CTSC. Randy Gollub will meet with her and Rudolph Pienaar, the medical imaging and informatics expert, this week to learn more about the current status of Dr. Grant's support and how we can be most helpful going forward.
• Dr. Grant and Rudolph Pienaar have already begun to use XNAT as an imaging research data repository for multi-site projects and have image analysis workflows in place that would provide templates for other users. They can collaborate with the Imaging Consortium to share these resources.

4. Informatics Update
The proposal is currently under consideration at CTSC central. Bill Hanlon agreed to prepare additional text to outline specific details of transferring image data from each hospital's PACS system to an image repository, including the current status and problems and suggested solutions. Randy Gollub is working to collect driving biological projects and to identify and write up a list of initial clinical translational investigators to work with the Imaging Consortium to pilot the first use of these resources.

• Note: Jeff Yap circulated a manuscript from Clinical Cancer Research (National Cancer Institute) that includes information on translational medical imaging. There was no time to discuss the article during this teleconference. The points from this manuscript pertinent to the Imaging Consortium can be raised at next week's teleconference.