An innovative end-to-end Australian Imaging Service platform integrating data captured directly from instruments, data in clinical sites, and using containerized pipelines on both local High Performance Computers and cloud, that solves significant and urgent data challenges for Australian researchers.

There has been rapid adoption of XNAT, a data management and informatics platform for imaging research by Australian researchers over the last two years. The AIS seeks to standardise and integrate deployments of the XNAT platform to create a distributed federation of enhanced XNATs. Our innovative federation will consist of multiple institutional deployments linked with a federated metadata search layer, common community practice, expanded data modalities, and a Trusted Tool Repository ensuring ongoing ownership and accountability of data.

Start date 19 May 2020
Expected completion date 30 June 2022
Investment by ARDC $700,000
Co-investment partners
The University of Sydney
QCIF
University of New South Wales
Macquarie University
The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
University of Western Australia
Lead node
1 Initial Deployments, December 2020
Initial work will deliver deployable XNAT Containers via a Docker repository, and will survey pipeline solutions
2 Further Deployments, June 2021
XNAT Containers will be added to a Singularity Repository expanding deployment options. A common set of standards to unify the federation will be implemented, and additional instruments will be integrated.
3 Integrations, December 2021
Several integrations will be delivered, including Gadgetron for medical image reconstruction, REDCap for patient reports from clinicians, and the ‘Trial Ready Registry Framework’ (TRFF) for clinical trials.
4 Pipelines, Metadata feeds, June 2022
Based on the survey in the first milestone, several container pipelines will be delivered. Metadata will be federated across the XNATs, using the standard developed by the project

Core features

Easier Deployment of XNAT
Deployment across a range of infrastructures, and ability to be redeployed simply at other institutions.
Federated Access
hrough sharing a common metadata model, data will be federated across the participating XNAT deployments.
Pipelines and Integrations
All pipelines and integrations are freely and easily available to all to deploy for themselves.

Who is this project for?

  • Research organisations
  • Imaging specialists
  • Infrastructure providers

What does this project enable?

By integrating direct data captured from instruments, data in clinical sites, and by using containerized pipelines on both local High Performance Computers and cloud, we create a novel and innovative end to end Australian Imaging Service platform accessible by a single sign-on through the Australian Access Federation, that is both feasible and solves significant and urgent data challenges for Australian researchers.

Handy resources

The University of SydneyVisit
QCIFVisit
University of New South WalesVisit
Macquarie UniversityVisit
The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)Visit
University of Western AustraliaVisit