Web servlet-assisted, dial-in flow cytometry data analysis

Background:The obvious benefits of centralized data storage notwithstanding , the size of modem flow cytometry data fries discourages their transmissio n over commonly used telephone modem connections. The proposed solution is to install at the central location a web servlet that can extract compact d ata arrays, of a form dependent on the requested display type, from the sto red files and transmit them to a remote client computer program for display . Methods: A client program and a web servlet, both written in the Java progr amming language, were designed to communicate over standard network connect ions. The client program creates familiar numerical and graphical display t ypes and allows the creation of gates from combinations of user-defined reg ions. Data compression techniques further reduce transmission times for dat a arrays that are already much smaller than the data file itself. Results: For typical data files, network transmission times were reduced mo re than 700-fold for extraction of one-dimensional (1-D) histograms, betwee n 18 and 120-fold for 2-D histograms, and 6-fold for color-coded dot plots. Numerous display formats are possible without further access to the data N e. Conclusions: This scheme enables telephone modem access to centrally stored data without restricting flexibility of display format or preventing compa risons with locally stored files. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.