Dr Steffen Bollmann recently presented a keynote at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Siemens user meeting in Hawaii where there is growing excitement in the industry for the groundbreaking Neurodesk platform.
Neurodesk, an open-source platform for brain imaging research, is transforming how scientists share their work and train the next generation of neuroscientists, addressing critical challenges in scientific reproducibility and education.
Developed by a team of eight core developers led by QDHeC’s Dr Steffen Bollmann, Artificial Intelligence Lead at UQ, the platform enables researchers to share reproducible analysis workflows alongside published manuscripts through computational notebooks that can run in cloud environments like Google Colab.
This approach allows readers to interact with and modify research code without downloading massive datasets or struggling with software installation issues.
at the ISMRM Siemens user meeting
"The platform was first conceptualised during a hackathon where people with diverse skill sets collaborated on projects," said Dr Bollmann.
“The system scales to accommodate different class sizes and computational demands while enabling remote access, allowing trainees to continue their analyses after workshops end.
“We now have more than 1,400 active monthly users from over 80 countries worldwide and there is growing interest in the field.”
The team recently developed a new feature to run Neurodesk software containers on the MRI scanner console. This enables users to directly translate the algorithms into clinical applications.
“We have been working with Siemens Healthineers, utilising their new interface called Open Recon, to build a community around this and we are testing first applications in clinical sites.
“We are moving beyond neuroscience to explore a gold-seed detection algorithm for prostate cancer patients to develop an MRI-only workflow for radiotherapy treatment.”
While several existing platforms address individual aspects of neuroimaging analysis, Neurodesk stands out by simultaneously tackling accessibility, portability, flexibility, and reproducibility. The team is actively collaborating with other platforms like Brainlife and BIDSApps to increase interoperability and expand options for researchers.
Looking ahead, developers acknowledge challenges including incorporating proprietary software and ensuring long-term sustainability. However, the platform's community-driven model and multiple funding pathways position it to serve scientists globally.
“The technology's foundation is already showing promise of extending beyond neuroscience to benefit researchers in any data-intensive field, potentially transforming how scientists worldwide analyse data and share results.”
For more information, visit neurodesk.org.
