Open-source Software

The eHealth Core Facility works with open-source software in order to provide you with top of the line software, custom-made for your study.

What is open-source software?

Open-source software is a computer software in which source code which users have the right to change and distrubute to anyone and for any purposes. The usefulness of open-source softwares is exponentially growing and is nowadays an essential part of Open Science, that is becoming a mandatory research standard in the EU. However, most of the open-source software tools cannot be used without significant effort for installation, configuration and maintenance.

The eHealth facility will help you to optimally use open-source softwares, downloadable from the Basic Infrastructure Building BOX (BIBBOX). This helps alleviate problems by providing an integration platform for open-source softwares with associated services for installing and using these softwares. BIBBOX is an open-source software toolbox akin to app store in mobile phones. The BIBBOX platform leverages virtual machine and docker containers for integrating different softwares in the store which can simply be installed, configured and run with a minimal IT effort, which the eHealth Core Facility can provide.

Software as a Service with BIBBOX

Most of the open-source software tools cannot be used without significant effort for installation, configuration and maintenance. Insufficient, unclear and lack of documentation makes it difficult for both IT and especially non-IT experts alike. BIBBOX helps alleviate these problems by providing an integration platform for open-source software in the biobanking domain with a single unified user experience of installing and using these applications.

Some of the features of the BIBBOX

  • Different ways of installing the platform; from image, vagrant or source.
  • Wide range of open-source applications available for the domain of biomedical research; Biobanking (LIMS), mobile data collections, bioinformatics, helper applications, etc.
  • Install applications from the platform with few simple clicks.
  • Multiple instances of the same application can be installed.

 

Interested in how you can use open source software through BIBBOX? Contact the eHealth Core Facility: ehealth@ki.se

06-03-2024