RSNA: COVID-19 Imaging Data Repository

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has announced the creation of an open data repository to facilitate sharing and compilation of imaging data on the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

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This initiative serves as an image hosting, annotation and analysis framework to shed more light on COVID-19, enabling researchers to generate new AI algorithms to assist with early and accurate detection of viral infections – ie, differentiation of COVID-19 from other pneumonias and quantification of lung involvement on CT for therapy planning.

“RSNA is committed to accelerating collaborative research and education on the uses of medical imaging to address diagnosis and imaging-based treatment of COVID-19,” stated Curtis P. Langlotz, MD, PhD, RSNA Board Liaison for Information Technology and Annual Meeting.

The success of the "COVID-19 Imaging Data Repository", according to RSNA, will depend on collaboration with many other interested practices, institutions and societies. As such, RSNA also announced an agreement to work closely with the European Imaging COVID-19 AI initiative, supported by the European Society of Medical Imaging Informatics. The agreement calls for the creation of a secure way to share COVID-19 imaging data, in order to assess lung involvement more accurately with AI. This collaboration will enable hospitals to provide imaging data securely and efficiently with researchers, respecting privacy and ethical principles.

Moreover, RSNA is also reaching out to other radiology organisations by releasing a survey through which radiologists can share COVID-19-related imaging data. The survey will help RSNA collect all available resources into a unified repository for international COVID-19 imaging research and education efforts.

Organisations are requested to use the survey form linked here (bit.ly/rsna-covid-data) to provide information about COVID-19 imaging data they may be willing share for research. Responses are requested by 15 April 2020, according to RSNA.

Source: ITNonline.com

Image credit: iStock