Who can join?
Membership is open to all research groups and consortia who are interested and willing to share suitable data. Research groups and consortia are eligible to participate in Meta VCI Map if they meet the following membership criteria:
- Cross-sectional or longitudinal data on patient cohort(s) with evidence of vascular brain injury on structural brain imaging (CT or MRI). Primary focus is on patients with ischemic stroke, memory clinic patients, and population-based subjects. Availability of lesion maps is preferred, but not a prerequisite.
- Relevant lesion(s) must be visible and delineable on brain imaging. For example, in patients with acute ischemic stroke, the symptomatic infarct must be visible.
- Availability of clinical data that measures cognitive performance or decline. Other clinical parameters that are relevant in the VCI research field may also be suitable, such as gait or affective disorders.
How to join in 3 steps
Step 1: Please get in touch with us through our contact form. We can send you additional information, and review if your data is suitable for META VCI MAP.
Step 2: If you are willing and able to join, the leading investigator of the research group or consortium must sign a memorandum of understanding, which specifies the principles of membership and collaboration.
Step 3: Congratulations, you are already a member of Meta VCI Map! Let us know what kind of data you are willing and able to provide, so we can present an overview on our website. You can now join projects, or initiate projects yourself.
Why become a member?
- Our network facilitates the sharing of data for the purpose of multicenter lesion-symptom mapping studies.
- We can help with data processing and analysis in lesion-symptom mapping studies, providing technical support if necessary.
- There are no formal obligations for members. You can decide to actively participate in projects, or simply make data available to other researchers. Also, no actual submission of data is required. Data is only shared for individual projects that you choose to join.