QUAREP-LiMi: Best Practices for the Light Microscopy (LiMi)- Model Revision Process

QUAREP-LiMi is a volunteer-based consortium focused on Quality Control and Reproducibility in Light Microscopy.

This document outlines best practices for revising the Light Microscopy (LiMi) Model for Metadata Specifications, maintained by QUAREP-LiMi.

The LiMi-Model for light microscopy metadata, formerly NBO-Q (4DN-BINA-OME-QUAREP) is an extension of the Open Microscopy Environment (OME) data model designed to standardize and structure detailed metadata for light microscopy experiments. Its purpose is to capture critical information such as microscope hardware specifications, image acquisition settings and calibration metrics. This standardization aims to enhance the quality, reproducibility, and interpretability of microscopy data, facilitating data sharing, analysis, and comparison across different experiments and labs. It supports FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, providing tiered specifications that scale with experimental complexity. The model also fosters community involvement and integration with software tools to ease metadata collection and exchange among the various interested parties (IP). Interested parties are for instance, specific WGs, microscope hardware component manufacturers, or other members of the QUAREP community.

To secure consistent and sustainable development of the LiMi-Model, the "LiMi-Model Revision Process" guides the production of revised versions as the need arises. This process, outlined in this document, comprises a set of steps involving both QUAREP-LiMi members and community stakeholders to ensure agreement on proposed changes. A revision process can be initiated when an interested party identifies that the current released version (Vn) no longer meets all
needs and should be revised. A successful revision process results in a new version (Vn+1) of the LiMi-Model.

This version of the Best Practices was approved by the QUAREP-LiMi steering committee on 9/3/2024.