NCI image archive management workshop: a preliminary report

The National Cancer Institute organized a workshop entitled "Image Archive Management" that was presented on August 28 and 29, 2000, at the Natcher Conference Center on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus. The purpose of this workshop was to solicit expert input for the planned development of an archival system to make imaging databases readily accessible by the broad scientific community. The specific goals were to (a) define the technical requirements for a virtual archive of images used in oncology, (b) define the policy issues for access to these images, (c) recommend a process and phases for implementation of a robust imaging archival system, (d) review how this effort could be expanded and coupled with other ongoing efforts by NIH and other organizations interested in imaging, and (e) form an overall plan and policy to allow interoperability of image data archives. Representatives who attended the workshop came from academia, government agencies, and large and small businesses. A preliminary report was generated, as outlined herein, and additional reports are anticipated from the steering committee being organized as one of this workshop's recommendations, which is expected to be active by summer 2001. Additional information, including the list of participants in this workshop, is available at the Biomedical Imaging Program Web site (http://www.nci.nih.gov/bip/).