The number of NIH-funded research projects using imaging technology has been steadily increasing at the University of Washington (UW). In addition to the wide-array of imaging resources available in the medical centers, the Department of Radiology has installed multiple dedicated research scanners (e.g., 3T MRI, PET- CT, microPET, etc) during the last 3 years to support original and collaborative research in the UW imaging sciences communities. One challenge for investigators who use imaging technology is to manage a large amount of imaging data and related analysis results. Currently, there is no centralized mechanism to store imaging data for subsequent data analysis and research use or to store """"""""raw"""""""" acquisition data for reprocessing. Each imaging site has been operating an independent small data server system to manage data specific to its projects. This creates inefficiency in multi-modal imaging data access, difficulty in data and resource and management, and eventually cost to the funding agencies. A non-uniform data archival structure also impedes collaboration and opportunities for exploratory data analyses. To improve the overall handling of imaging data for imaging sciences conducted at the University of Washington and to help scientists and engineers focus on research investigations, we propose to purchase and install a centralized Network Attached Storage (NAS) system and to integrate the system with our existing technology and expertise. This not only will help currently funded research projects, but also will accelerate and facilitate future imaging research projects conducted under NIH auspices.
Research that involves imaging technology is growing rapidly. The management of a relatively large volume of imaging data, however, creates challenges for many investigators and institutions, particularly for secure archival storage with rapid access to imaging data. This shared resource """"""""Imaging Sciences Network Attached Storage (NAS)"""""""" will help NIH-funded scientists and engineers at the University of Washington better focus on research investigations by providing an essential infrastructure of data storage. This will permit more effective access to imaging data for scientific investigations, better resource management, and cost effectiveness in ongoing operations and future grant funding.
