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Radiology Database continued

A Collaborative Solution
A C o l la b o ra t i v e S o l u t i o n
Collectively, the institutions collaborating to develop the
Zoo and Aquarium Radiology Database (ZARD) manage
13 zoos and aquariums and more than 45,000 animals.
The initiative was awarded a National Leadership Grant of
$689,419 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services 10
(IMLS). ZARD is being housed with Brookfield Zoo and
the principal investigator is Dr. Michael Adkesson, president
& CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society. Chinnadurai is
a member of the ZARD leadership team. Initially ZARD will include about 500 species—those that
“Database users will primarily be professionals who are common across zoos and aquariums, and particularly those
work in veterinary medicine, specifically those who work that are under threat of extinction. Each species will be represented
in managed care in zoos and aquariums, as well as wildlife by an equal distribution of five male and five female animals, said
conservation,” said Imaging Database Manager Dr. Joanna Webb. Before an image or study is uploaded, it will be reviewed
Webb. “It will be especially useful to smaller institutions by board-certified veterinary radiologists with the Zoo, Exotic,
and wildlife conservation groups that don’t have a large Wildlife Diagnostic Imaging Society of The American College
budget to develop their own database.” of Veterinary Radiology. These specialists, who volunteered their
services, will ensure that what is depicted is normal for each species.
When ZARD launches, it will hold 10,000 digital radiographs
(X-rays) and CT studies from the internal radiology databases of
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the seven partner institutions, said Webb. “Images and studies will
be anonymized, cataloged, and archived in an online database that
will allow queries through a web-based user portal.”
The database can be searched with user-designated parameters,
said Webb. For instance, suppose a veterinarian sees something
resembling a tumor on an X-ray of a tiger and wonders:
Is it a tumor or is it the species’ normal radiographic anatomy?
The veterinarian can log onto the database and type in the tiger’s
species, its age, whether it is male or female, and the body part of
interest. “The vet will look at our series of normal tiger radiographs
and CTs and compare them to his or her patient’s images.”

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