Glossary
Application
Definition: The object of study of a scientific field or a research field.
Example: Brain cancer diagnosis is an imaging application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and measurements can be made with the MRI instrument on board Imaging Core Facility (ICF).
Facility
Definition: A set of instruments combined to form an scientific or administrative unit.
Example: The Imaging Core Facility (ICF) carries multiple instruments (a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instrument, a Positron emission tomography (PET) instrument, ...) and is therefore considered as a facility in the Helmholtz Imaging Modalities database.
Institute
Definition: As Helmholtz Imaging is founded by the Helmholtz association, only the eighteen Helmholtz centers are referenced in the database. In case of missing center, please contact our Helmholtz Imaging Service Team at DESY Hamburg.
Example: The DLR is a Helmholtz institute.
Instrument
Definition: A device used for making measurements, alone or in conjunction with one or more supplementary devices. A set of instruments belonging to the same platform can be grouped in a facility.
Example: The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instrument on board the Imaging Core Facility (ICF) is one of the facility's instrument.
Modality
Definition: A type of imaging technique that utilizes a certain physical mechanism to measure a quantity. Imaging modalities can be categorized by the method in which images are generated (ultrasound, light, electrons, lasers, X-rays, ultrasound, nuclear magnetic resonance, etc) and by some imaging particularity. For example, X-ray could include X-ray microtomography, X-ray crystallography and X-ray spectroscopy.
Example: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an imaging modality that can be used for brain cancer detection with the MRI instrument on board Imaging Core Facility (ICF).