Tata Medical Center, Kolkata,and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, have launched India’s first fully annotated, relational, de-identified cancer image bank – CHAVI. This first-of-its-kind research partnership between the two premiere institutions in India was inaugurated in Kolkata on the 24th of September.
The inauguration also witnessed an enriching discussion chaired by experts including Dr. Arun P, Director Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, Dr Mammen Chandy, Ex-Director Tata Medical Center, Prof Partha Pratim Chakrabarty, and other officials. The project has been designed as a research collaboration between Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, and IIT Kharagpur, and developed as a part of the National Digital Library of India (NDLI). Its purpose is to develop an image biobank that is available across the country and to foster a foundation for future collaborative research efforts amongst major Indian cancer institutes.
The project will encourage researchers, academicians, and industry experts to use the wealth of imaging data available in CHAVI.Professor Partha Pratim Chakrabarty, Ex-Director IIT Kharagpur, Prof of Computer Sciences Department IIT Kharagpursaid, “India’s first such free access databank: CHAVI, will allow usage of previously unavailable data from the region, add relevant ethnic diversity in Radiomic research and hopefully complement available OMICS data to improve patient care.”