MRIdb: Medical Image Management for Biobank Research

• Published in: Journal of digital imaging Vol. 26; no. 5; pp. 886 - 890
• Main Authors: Woodbridge, Mark, Fagiolo, Gianlorenzo, O’Regan, Declan P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.10.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Database Management Systems; Databases, Factual; Humans; Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Radiology; Radiology Information Systems; User-Computer Interface; PACS; Digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM); MR imaging
• ISSN: 0897-1889; 1618-727X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10278-013-9604-9

Clinical picture archiving and communications systems provide convenient, efficient access to digital medical images from multiple modalities but can prove challenging to deploy, configure and use. MRIdb is a self-contained image database, particularly suited to the storage and management of magnetic resonance imaging data sets for population phenotyping. It integrates a mature image archival system with an intuitive web-based user interface that provides visualisation and export functionality. In addition, utilities for auditing, data migration and system monitoring are included in a virtual machine image that is easily deployed with minimal configuration. The result is a freely available turnkey solution, designed to support epidemiological and imaging genetics research. It allows the management of patient data sets in a secure, scalable manner without requiring the installation of any bespoke software on end users’ workstations. MRIdb is an open-source software, available for download at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/bioinfsupport/resources/software/mridb .