Clinical archive provides single repository for Biomedical Imaging Centre’s research data

The University of Aberdeen’s clinical research imaging facility has chosen BridgeHead Software’s independent clinical archive HealthStore to collect, store and protect its clinical research data. Researchers in the university’s recently upgraded Biomedical Imaging Centre will be able to effectively manage medical images that drive understanding of the causes, mechanisms and consequences of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

As part of the recent development of a next-generation MRI scanner, the centre wanted to future-proof the collection, storage and retrieval of its research data. HealthStore offers a secure and standards-based repository for all the clinical research imagery created. This will enable the multi- disciplinary team of radiographers, radiologists and physicists to securely access, view and analyse images, as and where they need to, on any approved device.

Senior lecturer and acting director at the Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre Dr Gordon Waiter said: “We have a long history in MRI research and development and are now embarking on our next 10-year phase. This includes investment in both traditional imaging and in the next-generation MRI scanner that provides clinicians and researchers with information about diseases that has not been previously available.

“However, this advance in technology simultaneously created a data management challenge. The images produced are often of higher resolution or dimension and can sit outside of the traditional DICOM format. As a result, it was becoming increasingly important that we future-proofed the storage and retrieval of the research data to ensure that it can be used successfully in future research.

“BridgeHead’s HealthStore will enable our researchers to move away from ineffective manual storage methods, eliminating data silos and protecting data from accidental loss or corruption. Acting as a single repository for all of the department’s clinical research and administrative data, it will benefit us in all our studies going forward.”

HealthStore also allows researchers to easily access and securely view the data at diagnostic quality, from any authorised device, providing the user has the appropriate permissions. This means the Biomedical Imaging Centre will be able to securely share clinical images among its community of life scientists. It will also enable the University of Aberdeen to make anonymised participant data relating to any published studies available to the wider scientific community, something that medical researchers are increasingly being encouraged to do.

Picture: Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre senior lecturer and acting director Dr Gordon Waiter.

Published on page 4 of the July 2020 issue of RAD Magazine.