A web-based solution to collect, manage and analyse Auditory Brainstem Response data

Auditory neuroscience often involves the collection of experiment data from test subjects in the form of non-invasive Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR). These ABRs are most often used to gauge a subjects hearing threshold. Although rarely; they can be analysed further. Research into ABRs has shown that the presence of brain damage or tumours may be detectable. This can be achieved if large amounts of ABRs are collected and compared. However many laboratories around the world do not keep the data as it is difficult to store and analyse, and sometimes only used for threshold analysis. This results in a huge amount of wasted data and opportunity. The goal of this project was to develop and build a web-based system to collect, manage and analyse ABR data for hearing research. The project was run as an iterative process based on the eXtreme-Programming (XP) methodology. It involved very close contact with the client laboratory. Onsite weekly meetings, demonstrations and experiments were attended to help understand the problem domain. A continuous analysis, design and integration cycle coupled with automated testing and deployment was used throughout the project. Where possible all key aspects of XP development were adhered to and the project managed in this fashion. The final OpenABR system was deployed to a cloud server and is being used by the client laboratory. It has several unique features that no other system of its type possesses. Its dynamic database interface allows scientists the flexibility and reliability they cannot get from standard databases. Future work would focus on expanding the dynamic database interface, integrating more analysis including heuristics and trying to include new data types such as imaging results.