Introduction

Background

RT-DC is a microfluidics-based imaging technique that provides a high-throughput, high-dimensional, single-cell analysis. Measurement rates reach 1000 cells per second. An image is recorded for each cell, enabling cell charactererization based on its phenotype. Due to the moderate microfluidic forces in the imaging channel, cells are deformed which makes it possible to infer mechanical properties. In addition, fluorescence information can be recorded, allowing a direct comparison to flow cytometry measurements.

Since RT-DC measurements are comparatively large (hundreds of MB to several GB), the handling and/or backup of these data can become a problem, especially for small research and diagnostics labs. The deformability cytometry open repository (DCOR) offers a solution to this problem. Users can upload their RT-DC data, create collections, share with other users, and cite their data in scientific publications. Furthermore, DCOR is designed to integrate with the open-source analysis software Shape-Out; with DCOR, data analysis only requires a network connection, the actual data remain on the server.

DCOR is open and free

The official DCOR service at https://dcor.mpl.mpg.de is free of charge. If you are not permitted (e.g. by data protection laws) to store your data there, you can always set up your own DCOR instance. This process is described in the self-hosting section and should probably (depending on your storage and backup strategy) involve your IT department. Please let us know if you are planning to set up your own DCOR instance so we can advertise this. Also, please don’t hesitate to get into contact with us (e.g. issues and pull requests on GitHub) if you feel like you are missing a specific feature or configuration option. DCOR should be robust and user-friendly - let’s improve it together!

Technology

DCOR is based on CKAN, an online data managing and publishing system. We provide a set of extensions and tools designed to make the work with RT-DC data easier. For instance, this includes a RESTful service that allows Shape-Out to directly access RT-DC resources without downloading entire measurements (ckanext-dc_serve) or previews of RT-DC data on CKAN web interface (ckanext-dc_view). You can find all extensions and tools at the DCOR-dev GitHub organization.