François Robert(1), Nicolas Piché(1), Mike Marsh(2)
Microscopy and Microanalysis, 26, Supplement 2, July 2020: 1714-1715. DOI: 10.1017/S1431927620019078

Abstract

Scientific imaging and subsequent image processing can involve countless parameters. Proper bookkeeping of imaging and image processing operations and associated parameters is tedious and error-prone, but these metadata are highly valuable for image interpretation and reproducibility for experiments in general, and scientific imaging in particular. Core laboratory work benefits when imaging protocols are detailed enough to share and inform other experiments, especially when the documentation suffices to make experiments reproducible. Using the industry-backed open source project, Hyperledger fabric [1], we have developed and describe here the blockchain image management system (BIMS), a open solution that encodes metadata records in a secure ledger that is access-restricted, tamper-proof, fault-tolerant, and collaboration-ready.

Author Affiliation

(1) Object Research Systems, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
(2) Object Research Systems, Denver, Colorado, United States.