The 1000 Functional Connectomes Project (FCP) has a new look ( http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org ), and a new initiative. Specifically, the FCP is announcing the beta-launch of the International Neuroimaging Data-sharing Initiative (INDI), and its inaugural prospective data-sharing effort – the Nathan Kline Institute (NKI)/Rockland Sample. INDI is a next-generation data-sharing effort, with the goal of sharing phenotypically rich imaging datasets, on both retrospective and prospective bases (see the 'Learn More' section at http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi... ).
This is only the beginning - if you have not done so yet, we'd love to have you join and contribute to our sharing effort! The full launch will be on October 8th, 2010.

The NKI/Rockland Sample is a phenotypically rich community sample (ages: 6-85) created for the purpose of open sharing, including:
- resting state fMRI (R-fMRI)
- diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
- MPRAGE
- various psychiatric, cognitive and behavioral assessments.

See http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi... for more details. ** You must first register with the site before downloading the INDI data ( http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi... ) - a painless process, and to be clear, all will be granted access.

** Given that the NKI/Rockland Sample is being shared prospectively as it is acquired, we anticipate distributing 5-10 datasets / week for unrestricted research usage.

Due the inclusion of extensive imaging protocol and phenotypic meta-data, INDI is adopting XNAT as the data distribution format for the NKI/Rockland Sample as well as for future datasets that will be made available through INDI (see http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi... for future site releases). To facilitate XNAT usage, the initial release will include a “plug and play” XNAT virtual machine for easy setup and initial familiarization with XNAT and its features. Additionally, we will shortly provide a setup guide that will be provided to establish a stand-alone XNAT, which is recommended to maximize stability. Finally, future release will include pipelines for processing via the 1000 FCP scripts path, integrated into XNAT.

** Please keep in mind this is a prerelease/beta version (translation: we are tidying up final issues and would like to welcome your input). A solid version will be ready for our official launch on October 8. With that said, we are looking for your input and experience to help us make sure we are providing data in a way that will work for you.

Beta release warnings:
- At present, DICOMs are in the XNAT, but not NIFTI's. We will change this to include NIFTI's and DICOMs very shortly (this has been a back and forth issue for us, though we have recently come to the decision to facilitate both camps of users). NIFTI versions of all images are currently located on the desktop (outside of XNAT) in a NIFTI directory, with easily identifiable subdirectories. In the next day or so, both versions will be integrated into the XNAT.
- MPRAGE and proton density images are only in NIFTI format currently (due to defacing). We will have them in both DICOM and NIFTI shortly.

This is a work in progress - but that makes it the perfect time for you to make suggestions. Also, we encourage you to consider sharing data via the FCP/INDI effort. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Mike