Molecular Imaging and Contrast Agent Database (MICAD): Progress and accomplishments

1050 Learning Objectives: 1. State the mission of the MICAD program. 2. Describe the information provided by the MICAD database. 3. Explain the information search mechanism available for the MICAD database. Abstract Body: As one of the key components of the NIH Roadmap, the MICAD (http://micad.nih.gov) program has been established by the National Cancer Institute and National Center for Biotechnology Information. The mission of MICAD is to foster research and development in molecular imaging by providing freely accessible online scientific information on in vivo molecular imaging and contrast agents to the community working in the field. The MICAD website was officially launched in September 2005. The MICAD program is designed to provide freely accessible, concise, up-to-date, and the most relevant online information on in vivo molecular imaging and contrast agents to the basic and clinical research community. The information is summarized in an easy-to-read textual format based on the National Library of Medicine “books” format. The database is fully indexed and searchable. Literature references are linked to abstracts in MEDLINE/PubMed, and chemical structures are linked to PubChem. More than 200 chapters of different agents have been published online since the official launch. In 2006, the website was redesigned, and a new search engine has been implemented to allow specific searches based on the methods of detection, sources of signal, available research studies, and text words. The MICAD program is widely advertised to the imaging communities through scientific posters and exhibits at various major imaging meetings, conferences, and workshops. The website had approximately 200-300 visits (hits) per week when it was first launched. By September 2006, the weekly visits to the website have increased to 600-700. MICAD is a dynamic program and is actively seeking feedback, recommendations, as well as chapter contributions from the imaging community. Research Support (if any): This research is supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH.