Development of a Flexible Imaging Data Integration Tool for Multicenter Clinical Trials

Multicenter clinical trials frequently require acquisition, processing, and transfer of data across multiple institutions in an efficient, secure, and reliable manner. The Clinical Trial Processor (CTP) developed by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has become an important tool for multicenter clinical imaging studies to handle critical needs, such as image de-identification and secure transfer. However, CTP, with a rigid pipeline design, is not flexible for complex tasks and has shortcomings when manual operations are required during image management. To tackle these disadvantages, we have developed an enhanced version of CTP by leveraging the JBoss Business Process Management (jBPM) platform that improves the flexibility and robustness of the original CTP. By re-engineering the core engine and extending functionalities, the enhanced processor, which allows a flow chart-like flexible task design approach, can handle more complex conditions and can notify users when interaction is required. We demonstrate the utility of the enhanced processor with realistic processes. Initial evaluation shows its efficiency. We believe that the enhanced system will become a powerful tool for the clinical imaging research community.