Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse (NITRC) Resource Announcement

Abstract

In an effort to promote the enhancement, adoption, distribution, and evolution of neuroimaging informatics tools and resources, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint for Neuroscience Research has launched the Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse (NITRC) available at http://www.nitrc.org/. The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a cooperative effort among the NIH Office of the Director and 15 NIH Institutes and Centers that support neuroscience research. “The goal of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is to provide scientists with new tools, resources, and training opportunities through collaborations and pooled resources,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. in the initial press release for NITRC. “By building upon significant investments already made in the informatics area, the Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse will provide a coordinated, coherent resource for the neuroimaging research community.” A discussion of the broad spectrum of NIH Neuroinformatics offerings was provided in (Huerta et al. 2006). Building upon prior tool registry experience (Kennedy and Haselgrove 2006), NITRC was designed to facilitate the adoption of tools and resources by providing access, information, and forums to enable interaction between the resource–user community and associated resource developers. Many neuroimaging tools and databases are underutilized because they are neither user-friendly nor easily adoptable and are very often not well documented or advertised. NITRC facilitates finding and comparing neuroimaging resources for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and related structural analyses—including popular tools as well as those that only a few researchers are utilizing. Currently there are ninety-seven tools posted on NITRC, and this number increases weekly. NITRC collects standardized information about tools, making the task of finding and comparing resources very easy for the user. For example, information on development status, topic, intended audience, operating system, and several other categories are displayed for most tools. This information will assist researchers in finding the right fMRI tool or resource that will support their work. NITRC users also have a role in improving the tools available on the Web site. NITRC provides ongoing opportunities for public comment and reviews regarding particular neuroimaging informatics tools and resources in order to guide development and enhance their use by the neuroimaging research community. NITRC also provides a supportive venue for community-based projects and collaboration among research laboratories and universities, and offers several community features, such as forums, that Neuroinform (2009) 7:55–56 DOI 10.1007/s12021-008-9036-8