NLM Informatics Training Conference 2008

Abstracts

Plenary/Focus Session Abstract Submissions:

The deadline for all Plenary and Focus Session abstracts is 5:00 p.m. EST on March 7, 2008 (by electronic mail to Christine Ireland at irelanc@mail.nih.gov). Each program may send two abstracts describing research projects conducted by its informatics trainees funded by NLM, VA or CDC. For Plenary sessions, presentations should describe research that is mature or recently completed, having results to report. For Focus sessions, presentations may describe either work that is mature/recently completed or is just getting underway. All submitted abstracts meeting these basic requirements will be presented in either a plenary or a focus session. NLM staff will allocate papers to plenary or focus sessions. Instructions and an example for preparing these abstracts are listed below. We ask that you ensure that all submissions conform to these instructions before sending them to us. As part of the abstract, please provide the e-mail address and full name of the first presenter for each presentation or poster.

Poster Abstract Submissions:

The deadline for Poster abstracts will also be 5:00 p.m. EST on March 7th (by electronic mail to Christine Ireland at irelanc@mail.nih.gov). Each program may submit no more than two poster abstracts with the exception of Harvard which, due to the size of its trainee pool, may submit 4 poster abstracts. Posters may present research at any stage of development: mature, ongoing, or just beginning. Poster abstracts should follow the same format as the Plenary and Focus session abstracts. More details about poster presentations are listed below. Trainees proposed as Plenary Session presenters should not be first authors on submitted posters.

Please feel free to contact Dr. Valerie Florance or Christine Ireland with any questions about this plan and/or the presentation formats. Also, please let us know as soon as possible if your program does not plan to submit their full quota of abstracts for the plenary, focus sessions, or poster sessions. It is likely that we will offer open slots to other programs.

Abstract Instructions

Instructions for Plenary/Focus Session/Poster Abstracts
Due: March 7, 2008 – 5:00 p.m. EST

1. Submissions for each presentation should consist of a title, an author list, and an abstract (together on one page). Example is attached.

2. The title should not exceed 75 characters.

3. The first author will be the presenter at the meeting. He/she must be a trainee currently supported by the NLM, CDC or VA. Up to four additional authors may be listed. Authors should be listed by first name, middle initial (optional), last name, and University or Institution—with authors separated by commas and no period after the middle initial. Do not include academic degrees in the author lists. (In special cases, trainees who were formerly, but are not currently, supported by NLM may present at the meeting. In such cases, contact Dr. Florance for clearance before submitting).

4. The abstract should not exceed 200 words.

4a. Below the abstract, indicate whether the work to be presented is proposed for Plenary, Focus or Poster session.

4b. Below the abstract, indicate which of the four training tracks is appropriate:
- Health care informatics
- Bioinformatics/computational biology
- Clinical research translational informatics
- Public health informatics

5. Each submission {Together: title, author list, abstract} should be attached as a separate Microsoft Word document. Example is included below.

6. Submit by e-mail to Christine Ireland (irelanc@mail.nih.gov) by March 7, 2008, 5:00 p.m. EST. All submissions should come from the program director or his/her administrative designee (preferably all in the same e-mail), and not directly from the trainees.

Additional Poster Instructions

Poster dimensions should be 3’ (h) x 5’ (w).

Poster presenters should arrive at the meeting at least half an hour early and check in at the front desk where they will be assigned a number for their poster, with the coordinating number on their nametag. NLM's support team will assist them with mounting their poster in the appropriate location.

Power Point Presentations for Plenary/Focus Sessions

In order to ensure that all presentations are loaded onto the conference room laptops prior to the meeting, please have all trainees submit their final presentations electronically (in Power Point format) to Christine Ireland at irelanc@mail.nih.gov by COB June 17, 2008. Backup files should also be brought to the meeting on USB or CD-ROM format.

(EXAMPLE ABSTRACT)

Automated Processing of Diffusion Tensor Data for Integration Within a PAC System

Authors:

Luis E Selva, Siamak Ardekani, Mary A Brennan, Usha Sinha, University of California, Los Angeles

Abstract:

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is increasingly being used in brain imaging studies. However, most DTI analysis software is available on stand-alone systems, thus the use of the processed DTI images is limited to the research setting. In order to support widespread usage, it is important to provide access through a Picture Archiving and Communication System. This project will describe software that processes DICOM diffusion tensor images and is flexible to accommodate different acquisition protocols (e.g., number of diffusion direction, b- values) and pre-processing strategies (noise removal, motion correction prior to averaging). All processing operations are performed in IDL on a standalone computer and an IDL utility is used to generate new DICOM headers compatible with the original patient files. These images are then integrated into the department PACS; current processed images are limited to eigenvalues, diffusion trace and fractional anisotropy since clinical workstations can routinely only display 2D gray scale images. Future work will focus on integrating color maps of anisotropy and fiber direction as well as 3D volumes of fiber tracts overlaid on anatomical data.

Research Stage:

Proposed for (enter one of the following): Plenary, Focus Session, Poster

Research Theme (enter one of the following): Health care informatics; Bioinformatics/computational biology; Clinical research translational informatics; Public health informatics

E-mail of First Author: ________________________