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= About SumsDB =

[[Image:SumsAboutImage.jpg]] 
<span class="plainlinks">[http://www.nitrc.org http://brainvis.wustl.edu/wiki_linked_files/images/NITRC_logo_Listed_Small.jpg]</span>



'''SumsDB''' (the '''Su'''rface '''M'''anagement '''S'''ystem '''D'''ata'''B'''ase) provides access to a growing body of neuroimaging and related data.  '''WebCaret''' software provides online data visualization for datasets in SumsDB.

== Main Categories of Data Based on Data Type and Usage ==

=== Atlas Datasets ===
* Surface and volume data
* Structural and functional data
* Data on cerebral cortex and cerebellar cortex 
* Human data – normal and neurological/psychiatric disorders
* Nonhuman primate data: macaque, chimpanzee, gorilla
* Rodent: mouse and rat data

=== Searchable Stereotaxic Foci and fMRI Maps ===
* Published data, curated and customized for data mining
* Over 25,000 sterotaxic foci from nearly 1,000 published studies

=== Publication Associated Datasets ===
* Underlay key figures in specific online publications:
* Individual subject data and population data mapped to atlases

=== Project-Related Datasets ===
* From various ongoing projects that serve archival purposes and sharing with selected collaborators
* Data from FreeSurfer, CIVET, and other brainmapping software besides Caret

=== Tutorials ===
* Documents and associated datasets from tutorials for both SumsDB/WebCaret and Caret. 

== Data Access and Security ==
* SumsDB provides multiple levels of data access and security
* Free (public) access (e.g., for data associated with published studies)
* Data access restricted to collaborators in different laboratories
* Owner-only access for work in progress 

== Data Organization ==
* Download data as individual files or as collections (‘spec files’) customized for offline analysis in Caret

== WebCaret ==
* WebCaret provides online ‘Caret-style’ visualization without software or data downloads: 
* WebCaret ‘scenes’ facilitate rapid visualization of complex combinations of data
* Bi-directional links between online publications and WebCaret/SumsDB provide: 
* Links from figures in online journal article to corresponding scenes in WebCaret 
* Links from metadata in WebCaret directly to relevant online publications and figures

== Searching and Data Mining ==
* Searching and data mining options using SumsDB and WebCaret:
* Search by data type, filename, associated metadata (text-based search)
* Spatially based queries
** Proximity to stereotaxic coordinates
** Overlap with selected fMRI activations (metric files)
** Overlap with identified cortical areas (paint files)
* Searches can be applied to:
** Currently loaded datasets
** ‘Processed’ datasets
** All public SumsDB data
** Restricted access data     
* Search results can be:                   
** Viewed in WebCaret                  
** Combined with other loaded data sets                   
** Downloaded directly 

== Hardware ==   

* SumsDB and WebCaret on a Linux cluster housed in the Electronic Radiology Laboratory in the Washington University Department of Radiology.  * * Automatic data backup and recovery are handled through a Network Attached Storage system.