neuGRID is a web portal aimed to (i) help

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

s do high-throughput

imaging Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image). Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images. ...

research, and (ii) provide clinical neurologists automated diagnostic imaging markers of neurodegenerative diseases for individual patient diagnosis. neuGRID's user-friendly environment is customised to a range of users from students to senior neuroscientists working in the fields of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

psychiatric diseases A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

, and white matter diseases. neuGRID aims to become a widespread resource for brain imaging analyses.

Process

Through the single virtual access point Science Gateway web portal, users login and access a “virtual” imaging laboratory. Here users can upload, use, and share algorithms for brain imaging analysis, have access to large neuroimaging datasets, and make computationally intensive analyses, all the time with specialized support and training. Thanks to distributed services and

grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Space partitioning * Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs ** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

computational resources, analyses with neuGRID are much faster than traditional-style lab-based analyses. neuGRID's proof-of-concept was carried out in 2009 when an Alzheimer's disease

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

(3D cortical thickness with Freesurfer and CIVET) was extracted from 6.500 MR scans in 2 weeks versus 5 years that it would have taken in a traditional setting.

History

neuGRID was first funded by the European Commission DG INFSO within the 7th Framework Program from 2008 to 2011. Here, the hardware and middleware infrastructure were developed. The second wave was funded in 2011 by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, now DG CONNECT, under the project neuGRID for you (N4U), with the main aim of expanding user services with more intuitive and graphical interfaces. N4U ended in April 2015.

Consortium

The initial neuGRID consortium involved 8 European partners from Italy, France, UK, Nederland, Sweden, Spain and Switzerland. N4U involved 9 European partners (6 of which already in neuGRID) and 2 North Americans. International partners have been involved thanks to a support action funded once more by DG INFSO (outGRID, http://www.outgrid.eu). The coordinator of all three projects is Giovanni B Frisoni, neurologist based at the IRCCS Fatebenefratelli, The National Centre for Alzheimer's Disease in Brescia, Italy.

Notes

Other publications

Neuroscientific studies where neuGRID has been used as a resource

* * * *For a complete list of the neuGRID publications please visit: https://www.neugrid2.eu/index.php/scientific-publications/

External links

* {{Official website, https://neugrid2.eu Web portals