AIM Model and Toolkit

  • Version Number and Release Date: AIM Model - 4.0 March 2013
  • Primary audience: Investigators, researchers, implementers, workstation vendors, clinicians interpreting and manipulating images
  • Grid Enabled? Yes
  • Compatibility Level: Legacy
  • Installation Level: Advanced - technical team required for installation
  • System Requirements:
    • MS Windows 2000 or better, 512 MB RAM or better
    • MS Visual Studio 2005 (SP1)
    • Source code available. Binaries available for Windows.

Tool Overview

AIM is the first project to propose and create a standard means of adding information and knowledge to an image in a clinical environment, so that image content can be easily and automatically searched. AIM provides a solution to the following imaging challenges:

  • No agreed upon syntax for annotation and markup
  • No agreed upon semantics to describe annotations
  • No standard format (for example, DICOM, XML, HL7) for annotations and markup

The AIM project includes the following tools.

  • The AIM Model captures the descriptive information for an image with user-generated graphical symbols placed on the image into a single common information source.
  • The AIM Toolkit has an AIM programming library written in C++ using DCMTK and Xerces for DICOM and XML creation and manipulation, respectively. The library has two logical components: implementation of the AIM information model as an AIM object model, and definition of transformations that can be performed on the AIM object model. The ANIVATR tool is a software application that shows how the library can be used. It is used for validating AIM annotations and transcoding between AIM XML and AIM DICOM SR.
  • The AIM Template Service is a web service application that makes it possible for you to upload (publish) and download AIM templates created using an AIM tool such as AIM Template Builder.
  • The AIM Template Builder is a Java application that allows you to build templates that are compatible with the AIM Model. Templates are a set of well-defined questions and answer choices that facilitate collecting information for a study. AIM Template Builder has replaced AIM Template Manager.
  • AIM on ClearCanvas Workstation is a referenced implementation of the AIM Model. AIM on ClearCanvas Workstation demonstrates how the AIM model and the AIM library can be applied in a real imaging diagnostic workstation. You can use AIM on ClearCanvas Workstation to create AIM XML documents and AIM DICOM SR objects that adhere to the AIM data model. You can also import a new AIM template XML document that represents a set of controlled questions and answers for each question. Typical users want to make simple and constrained annotations that are reproducible and consistent for the same kind of imaging study.

Technologies Used by the AIM Project

The AIM project team uses the following tools and technologies to develop AIM applications.

Installation and Downloads

.rar is a proprietary archive file format that supports data compression, error recovery, and file spanning. Both proprietary and free programs are available for accessing such files. A tutorial on accessing .rar files, including a free extractor, is available.

.war files (short for Web application Archive) are Java archive files used for packaging and distribution of Web applications. .war files often contain a collection of JavaServer Pages, Java Servlets, Java classes, XML files, tag libraries, and static Web pages (HTML and related files). More information can be found in the Wikipedia article.

Background information on Java Web applications is available.

The releases are listed in order by product from newest to oldest. There is also an AIM GitHub Repository

Help with Downloading Files in Archive Format

Forum and Support

Support

Defects and Feature Requests

Open Source Development

Contact Application Support for information about open source development and AIM.

Presentations, Demos and Other Materials

Documentation and Training