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, Comprehensive Archive of Imaging (CHAVI).

This first-of-its-kind research partnership between the two premiere institutions in India was inaugurated in Kolkata on September 24, 2022, in Kolkata is a huge boost to cancer research in India and will enable scientists from across the world to have free access to de-identified patient images and requisite clinical information that can be utilised for research purposes, the experts said.

Speaking at a discussion during the inauguration, Dr P Arun, Director of Tata Medical Centre Kolkata, said, “Data from digital imaging is critical to patient care, and with today’s technology, it also forms the substrate for future research to improve patient outcomes.”

Pointing out that it also allows evaluation of the efficacy of current treatment protocols, he added, “CHAVI from Tata Medical Centre, developed in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur colleagues, gives us the platform to enhance AI-Radiomic research using freely available annotated digital oncological imaging.”

Professor Partha Pratim Chakrabarty, Prof of Computer Sciences Department IIT Kharagpur and former director of the Institute, said, “We envisioned CHAVI as a unique comprehensive digital archive of cancer images allowing complementary information on assisting improvements in patient outcomes.

Noting that the collaboration between the two premier institutes should now be a significant collaboration between institutions across the world, Professor Chakrabarty said, “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.”

“It is very satisfying to see that the radiological image databank 'Comprehensive Digital Archive of Cancer Imaging' (CHAVI), developed under a research collaboration between IIT Kharagpur and Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, is operational and available for the researchers in the domain of Medical Imaging and Oncology,” Professor Jayanta Mukherjee, Dean Outreach IIT Kharagpur and Professor of Computer Sciences Department IIT Kharagpur said.

“In this era of AI and Machine Learning, data is a critical asset for the pursuance of knowledge, and CHAVI will facilitate the researchers with this key component and build a vibrant ecosystem for collaborative research among them,” he stressed.

Dr Sandeep Verma, Secretary of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, shared, ‘‘I am very happy to note that the first fully annotated cancer image bank of India - CHAVI, has been developed by Tata Medical Center and IIT Kharagpur. It is really a matter of pride to know of such an advancement. The efforts of Dr Sanjoy Chatterjee, Prof PP Chakrabarty and their team are appreciated for their pioneering work.”

Heads of Departments of ACTREC Mumbai, Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute Lucknow, Christian Medical College Vellore, amongst other specialists in the fields of cancer and artificial intelligence in Medicine along with Dr Sanjoy Chatterjee, Dr Indranil Mallick, and Dr Santam Chakrabarty from Tata Medical Centre also attended the launch.