ENGINEERING

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of the Engineering Core is to provide a workable and efficient platform to integrate NAC technology into a usable software application in support of our collaborations and outreach activities. This platform provides an essential link between the abstract world of applied mathematics and computer science, where a proof of concept can serve as a powerful research result, and the applied biomedical sciences where robust and usable systems are needed to drive the analysis of multiple subjects in a variety of clinical research scenarios. In particular, the Engineering Core is focused on such issues as interoperability between algorithms developed by the various cores of the NAC so that, for example, an R01 that results from an fMRI activation detection analysis can be used as the seeding points for DTI tractography to identify the white matter connections that may associate the activated R01 with other cortical and subcortical regions. By providing a common platform for research by the multiple cores, the potential value and applicability of each core is multiplied. Beyond functionality, the common platform gives users a common set of interface conventions, file formats, and related application-level support to enhance their productivity. Through the history of the NAC enterprise, our efforts have evolved increasingly towards the 3D Slicer platform as our mechanism for linking the basic computational research with the biomedical applications. 3D Slicer also acts as the conduit for delivering this work to the outside world as part of our outreach activities. This effort has, in fact, been so successful that 3D Slicer has in some sense graduated from the NAC to become an important part of several large NIH sponsored efforts including the NA-MIC, BIRN, and NCIGT efforts. This gratifying development increases the scope of the development activities beyond what NAC alone could provide and at the same time strengthens the foundations of the software.