Who can contribute to CHAVI?
CHAVI is a databank related to imaging in Oncology. Thus if you have access to images related to patients with cancer you can contribute to CHAVI. There are no restrictions with respect to your geographical location.
Why should I contribute to CHAVI?
Images are critical to oncology. Research suggests that images hold more information than can be reported and may hold clues that determine outcomes. Images are also used routinely in the planning of certain types of treatment, e.g. Radiotherapy. Therefore images can be used to develop or improve upon outcome prediction models. They can also be used to automate radiotherapy segmentation or treatment planning to help physicians and other personnel do their job faster and better. Research in this area is limited by the lack of availability of high-quality de-identified image sets, along with annotations. Your contribution to CHAVI will enable imaging researchers to find new answers to problems. CHAVI will also provide a crucial link between the imaging scientist and the clinical contributor, enabling you to engage in collaborative research with experts in imaging research.
How can I contribute to CHAVI?
In order to contribute image datasets we request you to do the following:
- Register yourself as a "Data Provider" for CHAVI by filling the registration form.
- After evaluating your application, one of the team members will provide you with the login credentials for the repository.
- We would also provide you with a copy of the CHAVI-DDiS - our bespoke de-identification software which can be installed on any standalone Windows desktop to de-identify images. Additionally, if you have clinical data to provide we will assist you in harmonizing the data so that it can be de-identified and loaded into CHAVI database.
- Our team members will teach you how to identify de-identified imaging and clinical data into the CHAVI system.
- They will also work with you to set up a page on the CHAVI website which provides the data description and licensing terms for your dataset.
What is needed to upload data into CHAVI ?
There are two major requirements :
- We require that you obtain an institutional review board or ethics board approval for uploading the data. We will need a copy of the approval letter from you.
- We require you to use the CHAVI-DDiS to de-identify imaging data. For this, you will need to install the provided software on a desktop at your local network.
If you wish to upload clinical data in addition, we would provide you with a database structure or work with you to harmonize your existing dataset.
What is clinical data upload in CHAVI?
CHAVI is an image databank that allows the storage of clinical data related to the patient which may not be contained in the DICOM dataset. CHAVI stores such data in a relational database and allows the linkage of the data with the respective imaging datasets. How much clinical data you provide is entirely at your discretion.
What kind of Imaging data can be uploaded into CHAVI?
We support any form of imaging data available as a DICOM dataset. For Radiotherapy, we support uploading of the radiotherapy structure set, dose information, plan information, and image registration files. Additional imaging formats will be supported by CHAVI in the future.
What happens to our data after it is uploaded to CHAVI?
After the data is uploaded into CHAVI we will work with you to set up the correct licensing terms and conditions for your dataset. After this, the data can be accessed by CHAVI members who wish to download data for research.
Can people from outside India contribute to CHAVI?
Indeed we welcome all users from across the world to contribute to CHAVI. We also welcome you to use the images available in CHAVI for your research and education.
Will all members of CHAVI be able to download the data?
Yes, the de-identified data will be available to all members of CHAVI who register for a data viewer role.
What are the terms under which the images that I upload will be used?
Data usage policy information is provided with each dataset in the CHAVI system. You will control in setting these terms. The user will have to agree to use the data pursuant to the aforementioned data usage policy. Most datasets are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence. Read more about the licence here.
Where is the data stored in CHAVI?
The de-identified image and clinical data are currently stored in a server located at Tata Medical Center, Kolkata. The data is stored securely and regularly backed up.
What if I wish to download images from CHAVI?
We will provide you with a set of access credentials for the role of a "Data Viewer". Data viewers are able to download data from CHAVI.
