Research Article
Miller BN, Wang R, Kelly R, Ki
Abstract
Grant funding agencies are continuing to move toward their own standardized database platforms in the pursuit of harmonizing data and reproducing results. The National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA) is one such mission. This initiative serves as a repository for data collected by investigators who have been funded by the NIH/NIMH and have committed to sharing their data with the NDA. Preparing data captured by assessment and imaging collection and management systems (e.g. XNAT, Qualtrics, and REDcap) for submission can be challenging. NDA data submissions are performed through standalone GUI-only applications, limiting automation possibilities. The Collaborative Informatics and Neuroimaging Suite (COINS), a web-based data collection and management platform that employs integrated assessment and imaging collection, has developed tools to assist in assessment and imaging submissions to NDA repositories. COINS is able to assist in the creation of the NDA participant identifier, Global Unique Identifier (GUID). The NDA application programmer interface (API) is then utilized to map COINS instrument questions and scan series to NDA data elements to provide a series of exports that can be directly submitted to the NDA applications. These exports do not require any manual manipulation or use of scripts to conform data to NDA standards. In July 2016, the first assessment submission using COINS tools was completed and the first imaging submission was performed in January 2017.