2025
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NAVIGATOR: a regional multimodal imaging biobank initiative powered by AI tools for precision medicine in oncology

Aghakhanyan G., Barucci A., Pascali M. A., Assante M., Bagnacci G., Bertelli E., Caputo F. P., Cuibari M. E., Carlini E., Carpi R., Caudai C., Cioni D., Colantonio S., Colcelli V., Dell'Amico A., Vecchio V. D., Gangi D. D., Faggioni L., Formica V., Francischello R., Frosini L., Kotsa C., Lipari G., Manghi P., Martino V. D., Marzi C., Mazzei M. A., Mangiacrapa F., Meglio N. D., Miele V., Molinaro E., Paiar F., Pagano P., Panichi G., Pasquinelli F., Peccerillo B., Perrella A., Piccioli T., Oliviero A., Olivoni M., Rucci D., Tampucci M., Tumminello L., Volpini F., Zanuzzi A., Fanni S. C., Neri E.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)  Virtual Research Environment (VRE)  Imaging Biobank  Oncology Biomarkers  Deep Learning  Precision Medicine  Radiomics 

The NAVIGATOR project established an Italian regional imaging biobank and interactive research platform designed to support precision oncology through the integration of multimodal imaging, clinical, and omics data. The platform goes beyond a static repository, offering a secure Virtual Research Environment (VRE) where users can upload data, test AI algorithms, and execute complete analytical pipelines. The platform incorporates artificial intelligence (AI)-driven radiomics and deep learning methodologies to enable biomarker extraction, disease stratification, and predictive modeling. This manuscript presents the development and implementation of the NAVIGATOR infrastructure, including its data governance framework, ethical and legal considerations, and application to three oncological use cases: prostate, rectal, and gastric cancers. To date, the biobank has collected imaging and clinical data from over 700 patients across these cohorts. AI models were deployed within a dedicated VRE to facilitate image analysis, feature extraction, and classification tasks. The project addresses critical challenges related to data harmonization, regulatory compliance, privacy safeguards and fairness in AI systems. NAVIGATOR demonstrates the feasibility of integrating AI methodologies within imaging biobanks and provides a scalable framework to advance oncological research and support clinical decision-making.

Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY, vol. 191 (issue 112327)

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@article{oai:iris.cnr.it:20.500.14243/556041,
	title = {NAVIGATOR: a regional multimodal imaging biobank initiative powered by AI tools for precision medicine in oncology},
	author = {Aghakhanyan G. and Barucci A. and Pascali M.  A. and Assante M. and Bagnacci G. and Bertelli E. and Caputo F.  P. and Cuibari M.  E. and Carlini E. and Carpi R. and Caudai C. and Cioni D. and Colantonio S. and Colcelli V. and Dell'Amico A. and Vecchio V.  D. and Gangi D.  D. and Faggioni L. and Formica V. and Francischello R. and Frosini L. and Kotsa C. and Lipari G. and Manghi P. and Martino V.  D. and Marzi C. and Mazzei M.  A. and Mangiacrapa F. and Meglio N.  D. and Miele V. and Molinaro E. and Paiar F. and Pagano P. and Panichi G. and Pasquinelli F. and Peccerillo B. and Perrella A. and Piccioli T. and Oliviero A. and Olivoni M. and Rucci D. and Tampucci M. and Tumminello L. and Volpini F. and Zanuzzi A. and Fanni S.  C. and Neri E.},
	doi = {10.1016/j.ejrad.2025.112327},
	year = {2025}
}

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An Imaging Biobank to Precisely Prevent and Predict cancer, and facilitate the Participation of oncologic patients to Diagnosis and Treatment
An Imaging Biobank to Precisely Prevent and Predict cancer, and facilitate the Participation of oncologic patients to Diagnosis and Treatment

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