Australian Imaging Service (AIS)

The Challenge

Universities and clinical sites across Australia are struggling to manage large volumes of imaging data, while balancing patient privacy and the need for sharing and accessibility in the research community.

The Response

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 Australian Imaging Service (AIS) project is standardising and integrating deployments of the XNAT platform to create a distributed federation of enhanced XNATs.

This end-to-end platform will integrate data captured directly from instruments and in clinical sites, using a common metadata model and containerised pipelines on both local high-performance computers and cloud.

Our innovative federation will consist of multiple institutional deployments linked with a federated search layer, common community practice, support for expanded data types and a Trusted Tool Repository ensuring ongoing ownership and accountability of data.

Delivery of several integrations will include Gadgetron for medical image reconstruction, REDCap for patient reports from clinicians, and the Trial Ready Registry Framework for clinical trials.

Who Will Benefit

Research organisations and infrastructure providers will benefit from simplified deployment of XNAT across a range of infrastructures.

Federated access to data and analysis pipelines across the participating XNAT deployments, provided by a single sign-on through the Australian Access Federation, will solve significant and urgent data challenges for Australian researchers and imaging specialists.

The Partners

• The University of Sydney
• QCIF
• University of New South Wales
• Macquarie University
• The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
• University of Western Australia

Target Outcomes

The AIS will transform the imaging and radiology sector by leveraging institutional investments and providing enhanced data management and analysis in an innovative end-to-end platform.