• Overview
• Contacts

Welcome to the Consultation Unit of the Harvard Catalyst Translational Imaging Service. The Consultation Service is designed to assist clinical and translational investigators in the planning and design of medical imaging research. The Consultation Unit includes faculty from across the Harvard affiliated medical centers with expertise in the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of medical imaging data.

Imaging Consultation Form

To request a consultation, please complete and submit this web form.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What kind of consultation is available?
We will work with you to address your individual needs related to the design and planning of medical imaging research. Common requests for consultation include:

• selection of appropriate imaging modality to assess clinical or treatment outcome
• choice of appropriate image acquisition parameters for greatest sensitivity and specificity of outcome measure
• identification of most appropriate medical image analysis methods (including medical imaging statistics)
• development of experimental design for clinical translational studies
• identifying appropriate imaging acquisition and analysis facilities for clinical trials (e.g. DFCI Tumor Metric Core)
• identifying appropriate collaborators for imaging and image analysis
• guidance for implementation of multi-site studies with medical image acquisition
• training in the use of specific medical image analysis software tools (e.g. Slicer 3, Freesurfer)
• guidance on IRB and human subjects issues specific to medical imaging studies including template language
• career development guidance for investigators in the areas of biomedical imaging

2. Who is eligible to receive consultation services?
Consultation is available for clinical and translational investigators in the Harvard University community (postdoctoral fellows and faculty members).

3. What kind of consultation is not available?
Our consultants serve the role of advisor and facilitator; they are not key personnel on projects. Specifically,

• We can provide general guidance for projects that involve statistical analysis of medical imaging data but consultation regarding substantial statistical services (power calculations, data analysis, etc) can be obtained through the CTSC Biostatistics consultation service.
• We are focused on assisting with the planning and design of research proposals and/or methods for image analysis and do not provide ongoing support for the implementation of new studies or the analysis of data from existing studies. Such "post-funding" research expertise will normally be covered by key personnel on the specific project funded by the investigator. We can however assist in the identification of appropriately trained individuals who are available for collaboration or service work (networking). Thus, for example, consultation is available for the preparation of a grant or IRB submission, but is not designed to support the implementation or analysis of a funded project. We can also assist in the preparation of Catalyst Pilot grants that request funds for the acquisition and/or analysis of medical imaging data.

4. What costs are associated with consultation?
Consultation is provided free of charge to Harvard investigators.

5. How do I request a consultation?
To initiate a consultation, complete and submit the Imaging Consultation Form (web form). After your request is submitted, it will be reviewed by the consultation service and you will be contacted to arrange the details of the consultation. In some cases, we may contact you to clarify the nature of your request.