A FAIR narrative on open science: when, who, what and how of computed tomography and the NoCTURN network

Open science, the practice of making research products and processes free and available to scientists and non-scientists alike, is transforming image-based studies using non-clinical computed tomography (CT). Recently, the National Science Foundation has established research coordination networks to help address principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability (FAIR) within the United States (US) scientific enterprise and in partnership with the global community. The Non-Clinical Tomography Users Research Network (NoCTURN) is one such organization, focused on CT data accessibility and reuse, helping to address significant obstacles related to bespoke hardware, proprietary software and siloed workflows. NoCTURN strives to develop and maintain linkages across CT ecosystems capable of driving cultural and technological changes. To that end, we discuss the last two decades of FAIR principles (when) and present our recommendations for CT data access by focusing on a survey of predominantly US CT users (who), the definition and role of metadata schemas (what), and the broad use of persistent identifiers (how).