title: MINC 2.0: A Flexible Format for Multi-Modal Images.
abstract: It is often useful that an imaging data format can afford rich metadata, be flexible, scale to very large file sizes, support multi-modal data, and have strong inbuilt mechanisms for data provenance. Beginning in 1992, MINC was developed as a system for flexible, self-documenting representation of neuroscientific imaging data with arbitrary orientation and dimensionality. The MINC system incorporates three broad components: a file format specification, a programming library, and a growing set of tools. In the early 2000's the MINC developers created MINC 2.0, which added support for 64-bit file sizes, internal compression, and a number of other modern features. Because of its extensible design, it has been easy to incorporate details of provenance in the header metadata, including an explicit processing history, unique identifiers, and vendor-specific scanner settings. This makes MINC ideal for use in large scale imaging studies and databases. It also makes it easy to adapt to new scanning sequences and modalities.
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Robert D
authors: RD
authors: Vincent
authors: Intelerad Medical Systems Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Neelin
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Najmeh
authors: N
authors: Khalili-Mahani
authors: Center for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors: Andrew L
authors: AL
authors: Janke
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Vladimir S
authors: VS
authors: Fonov
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Steven M
authors: SM
authors: Robbins
authors: Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors: Leila
authors: L
authors: Baghdadi
authors: Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenToronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada.
authors: Jason
authors: J
authors: Lerch
authors: Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenToronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada.
authors: John G
authors: JG
authors: Sled
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Adalat
authors: Autodesk Inc. Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: MacDonald
authors: Biospective Inc. Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Alex P
authors: AP
authors: Zijdenbos
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill UniversityMontreal, QC, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill UniversityMontreal, QC, Canada.
authors: D Louis
authors: DL
authors: Collins
authors: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Alan C
authors: AC
authors: Evans
keywords: HDF5; data format; data management; metadata; neuroimaging; provenance