On the USC health sciences campus, the current animal-to-researcher workflow in small animal and molecular imaging research is burdened with limitations of various proprietary stand-alone systems, CD-making back-up policies, and image file formats that are not viewable to the off-site researcher. This makes it hard for researchers using the molecular imaging tools to gain efficient access and reliable management of their image data. To move towards an integrated workflow system for molecular imaging data would require file format normalization services, metadata databases, archiving infrastructure, and comprehensive user interfaces.
The goal is to discover how grid technology can support the molecular imaging and small animal imaging research community, where a better bridge needs to be built between imaging modalities and clincial researchers. The trainee has done existing projects utilizing the Data Grid in PACS tier 2 backup solutions, where fault-tolerance is a high priority, as well as imaging-based clinical trials where data security and auditing are primary concerns. Funding would allow the trainee to carry the Data Grid project into molecular imaging with new challenges for the trainee and help him explore novel database designs, file format standards, virtual archiving and distribution workflows, and potential grid computing for 3-D reconstructions, co-registration, and post-processing analysis.