The FBIRN has developed the Federated Informatics Research Environment (FIRE), a suite of tools and methods to calibrate and collect data across diverse environments; store and manage the imaging and clinical data in standard ways; analyze multi-site data; and share the results in a permanent location.
The image below shows the various areas in which our tools and methods interact, with more details available through the links below. These tools work separately or together. More information is available also at the FBIRN FAQ.
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What tools and recommendations exist for collecting imaging and behavioral data in the MRI scanner?
The FBIRN has the following available for multi-site fMRI studies:
What tools exist for managing and sharing clinical and other assessment data collected as part of a study?
- BIRN_ID generator for subject deidentification
- The Clinical Assessment Layout Manager (CALM), for integration with the database
How can I store and share my data, either locally or in a distributed system?
The FBIRN database and tools have been designed to operate as part of a data sharing environment.
- The Human Imaging Database
- XCEDE (XML-based Clinical and Experimental Data Exchange)
- Upload scripts to organize structural and functional imaging scans and link to the database
What tools exist to discover and retrieve datasets?
These tools and interfaces allow multi-database querying, dataset selection, and download capabilities to your local system. They are both available as part of the Human Imaging Database (HID) System.
- The Query Interface to search for datasets
- The Imaging Dataset Download manager to retrieve datasets
How can I perform standardized analyses of the functional imaging data from several sites?
Analysis of large, diverse datasets requires some initially standardized methods.
For more information on FBIRN methods and tools, please see these video explanations:
https://wiki.birncommunity.org/display/FBIRN/FBIRN+Tutorials
For more information on the basics of MRI, please see the following sites:
- fMRI for newbies: http://culhamlab.ssc.uwo.ca/fmri4newbies/
- Basics of MRI: http://www.cis.rit.edu/htbooks/mri/
