Frequently Asked Questions

The Imaging Plaza is an online platform designed to help users find, evaluate, and utilize imaging software easily. It features a curated collection of imaging algorithms, runnable examples, and a tailored search system, making it easier for non-experts to navigate the vast array of available imaging tools.

The primary goal of the Imaging Plaza is to lower the entry cost for scientists and researchers in finding and using imaging algorithms. By providing a user-friendly interface, curated collections, and expert support, it aims to augment the impact of high-quality imaging software in the scientific community and reduce the risk of misusing or overlooking valuable tools. It also aims at breaking community barriers in imaging by allowing users from a given research community (e.g. bio) to search algorithms from another (e.g. astro) that might be of relevance for their task.

The Imaging Plaza is beneficial for scientists, researchers, and non-experts who need to find, evaluate, and use imaging algorithms. It is particularly useful for those who may not have deep expertise in imaging technology but need reliable tools for their research​.

Unlike most existing platforms that host code, the Imaging Plaza focuses on ensuring high-quality, well-documented, and reusable software, and guiding users through these available options through a powerful search system tailored to imaging needs while avoiding technical jargon as much as possible.

While AI can generate code, the Imaging Plaza offers a curated selection of well-documented, tested, reliable, and high-quality software, reducing the risk of errors and inefficiencies that might arise from using AI-generated code without sufficient expertise.

While ChatGPT can provide general advice and recommendations, the Imaging Plaza offers a curated and validated collection of imaging software specifically designed to meet FAIR criteria (see below). It provides detailed, reliable, and ready-to-use tools with expert support and documentation.

FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. It is a set of principles proposed by Wilkinson et al. that ensure scientific data and software are properly managed and available for reuse by others. Many of the high-level guiding principles for FAIR directly apply to software. Specific software characteristics, such as modularity, executability, and continuous development, require adaptation and extension of the existing FAIR principles. We build upon the revision of the FAIR principles in the software context proposed by Lamprecht et al. and Katz et al..

• F: Findable. The first step in (re)using software is to find it. Metadata and software should be easy to find for both humans and computers.
• A: Accessible. Once the user finds the required software, they need to know how it can be accessed, possibly including authentication and authorization.
• I: Interoperable. The software must be able to communicate with other software via exchanged data and metadata that follow common exchange standards.
• R: Reusable. The ultimate goal of FAIR is to enable and encourage the use and reuse of software. Therefore, software should be well-described (by metadata) and appropriately structured to be replicated, combined, reinterpreted, reimplemented, or used in different settings.

The FAIR level is an index developed for the Imaging Plaza to help users quickly assess the accessibility and usability of a particular imaging software.

The FAIR levels proposed in the Imaging Plaza indicate the number of implemented FAIRification requirements for a given software. We have organized these requirements into five groups and provided clear user actions to attain each level.

USER ACTIONS to FAIRify imaging software:

• Minimal record: Created a research software entry on the Imaging Plaza with the minimal required information.

• License: Assigned a valid SPDX license to the software.
• Citation: A citation in the form of a valid DOI URL. If you don't have a DOI, you can create one on Zenodo.
• Name: Assigned a name to the software.
• Description: A brief description of the software.
• URL: Fill in any URL related to this repository, e.g., related lab or project website.
• Date created: The date on which the repository was created.
• Date Published: The date on which the version you upload to the plaza was last published.
• Image: A representative URL to an image of the software.
• Producer: Data on who initially produced the software.
• Maintainer: Data on who currently maintains the software.

• ReadMe: Repository has a README file explaining basic information about the software requirements, installation, and use.

• Software requirements: Special third-party dependencies required (e.g., CUDA, TensorFlow, etc. related specific requirements).

• Documentation: Pointer to the documentation of the model.
• Memory Requirements: Minimal memory required to use the software.
• Parameter(s): Property that indicates the parameters of a model configuration.

• Executable Instructions: Human-readable instructions that indicate how a software component should be executed.
• Executable Notebook: Property that links a software component with an executable notebook (e.g., Jupyter notebook).

Yes, you can increase your software's FAIR level by improving its documentation, providing runnable examples, and ensuring it meets the criteria set by the FAIR framework. The Imaging Plaza provides guidance on how to achieve higher FAIR levels.

Yes, the Imaging Plaza allows users to save and bookmark software of interest. This feature helps users keep track of tools they may want to revisit or use in the future.

Runnable examples are pre-configured environments that allow users to test and evaluate imaging algorithms directly on the platform. They help users quickly determine the relevance and effectiveness of a tool for their specific needs.

EPFL collaborators can reach out to the Hub for Image Analysis in the EPFL Center for Imaging for help with running, installing and implementing the software on the Imaging Plaza within a pipeline https://imaging.epfl.ch/help (requires EPFL login).

Yes, you can submit new software to the Imaging Plaza. The platform allows third-party developers to list their imaging tools, which are then validated by the platform curators to ensure they meet the required standards. The platform has a system to automatically fetch most of the required information on a software from its public repository, hence facilitating the work of contributors.

A team of imaging specialists from the EPFL Center for Imaging and the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) actively curates the software listed on the Imaging Plaza to ensure it is of high quality, well-documented, and easily reusable.

If you find a mistake on a software page, you can report it through the platform's feedback system. The Imaging Plaza team will review and address the issue promptly to maintain the quality and accuracy of the information provided.

https://www.epfl.ch/research/services/protect-intellectual-property/software-licenses/

Without a license, code is fully copyrighted and cannot be used, shared, modified, or reproduced.

https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/customizing-your-repository/licensing-a-repository

The choice of license depends on the permission you are willing to give in terms of use, sharing, modification, and reproduction.

https://www.epfl.ch/research/services/protect-intellectual-property/software-licenses/choose-the-right-license/

The conditions of use of the software will be in the license file.

If there is no license file, the authors fully retain the copyright, and you cannot use the code. The only solution is to contact the authors to ask for a license to use the code.

https://www.epfl.ch/research/services/protect-intellectual-property/software-licenses/use-third-party-software/

EPFL members can reach out to the Hub for Image Analysis in the EPFL Center for Imaging for help with running, installing and implementing the software on the Imaging Plaza within a pipeline https://imaging.epfl.ch/help (requires EPFL login)