A single software program is able to manage the 30 servers and more than 30 terabytes of storage, along with custom-built Java and Cold Fusion applications, in use by the Human Neuroimaging Lab (HNL) to conduct research into the physiology and functional anatomy of the human brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Located at the Baylor College of Medicine (Houston), the HNL uses a method called "hyperscanning" to perform brain scans simultaneously on multiple subjects, each in a separate MRI scanner, as they interact with each other.

"In general, our research focuses on taking fairly complicated human behaviors and correlating them with an area of the brain. From there, we can build a baseline of ‘normal’ cases and then determine (through scanning on the same experiment) if there are deficiencies in special population groups, such as Parkinson’s patients," said Justin King, the lab's systems administrator. He notes the brain activity of someone with a psychological disorder is completely different than those with normal brains, yet without multi-person scanning, it would be impossible to collect, and subsequently identify, this data. "At some point, I think we’re likely to stumble upon something that is truly groundbreaking and will provide some real insight into how and why a certain disease does what it does – ultimately providing a potential treatment and/or cure."

The lab, which examines 50-60 subjects each month, is not affiliated with Baylor University in Waco.

Creating an environment in which multiple MRI scanners could "collaborate" on the information provided to clinicians required lab technicians to develop a variety of task-specific applications to collect and analyze data. As the infrastructure grew, so did the demand for a way to monitor multiple input devices in a single location.

"Hyperic HQ replaced all previous NMS systems, allowing an enterprise-wide ‘health monitor’ from a single console. Hyperic makes it so simple and provides a much more granular view beyond the ‘up/down’ and ‘i/o bits per second’ graphs," said King. "It was easy to set up and get running and it didn’t require modifying XML files or compiling source code. It is also easy to keep running."

Hyperic HQ manages all kinds of operating systems, web servers, application servers, and database servers. The software can be configured to monitor, alert, diagnose, and control most types of applications.

Hyperic HQ software is open source, so it is available free through the industry-preferred GPL license. Additional support is also available through the company's Silver Support package.

Though most clinical imaging departments do not require the level of system interaction taking place at HNL, the adaptability of the Hyperic solution means it is one more option imagers seeking single-solution applications.

"If there’s a piece of hardware that needs to be monitored, at the absolute minimum Hyperic can provide uptime statistics," said King. "If you need metrics on a specific application, they’ve got you covered there as well."

At HNL, information gathered from the magnets is averaged over a group of people to determine statistically significant trends. For example, clinicians would create a mathematical function that represents the events in an area of interest in the brain throughout the experiment. That function is then applied to the specific section of the brain to determine if any significant activity or information is generated.

"If so, that is usually determined to be an area of ‘activation’ and that area is looked at with further scrutiny," said King. "At the end of the day, you have multi-colored activation maps indicating the ‘amount’ of activation in a given area. What you’re seeing is an average over a number of people."