> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.redbrickai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Getting started
# Getting Started with AltaDB
AltaDB is RedBrick AI's integrated high-performance medical imaging storage solution, providing a modern alternative to traditional cloud storage systems like AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Orthanc. AltaDB is specifically optimized for DICOM data with medical imaging-specific features and organization.
## Accessing AltaDB
AltaDB is now fully integrated into the RedBrick AI platform. To access AltaDB features:
1. Log in to your [RedBrick AI account](https://app.redbrickai.com)
2. Navigate to the **AltaDB** section in your dashboard
3. Your AltaDB datasets will be available within your RedBrick AI organization
## Understanding AltaDB Structure
Within your RedBrick AI organization, AltaDB allows you to organize your data into multiple Datasets. A Dataset is a collection of DICOM studies and/or individual series.
All DICOM data is **indexed by series using the Series Instance UID DICOM headers** and automatically organized into series within your dataset.
Once indexing is complete, you can view all DICOM headers and search/filter your dataset by Series Instance UID, Study UID, or Patient ID.
AltaDB will not maintain the original folder structure of your uploads. The
folder structure will be traversed, and individual series will be extracted
and indexed for optimal performance.
If AltaDB encounters an invalid DICOM file in a Series, the entire Series will
be skipped during import.
## Importing Data
1. Navigate to your AltaDB dataset in RedBrick AI
2. Click **Import Data** to open the data importer
3. Either:
* Drag & drop your DICOM files into the importer, or
* Click to browse and select files from your device
4. AltaDB will index the DICOM headers and apply state-of-the-art compression
5. Monitor import progress in the **Imports** tab
You can specify a top-level directory to recursively upload all valid DICOM
files in subdirectories when using the drag & drop interface.
AltaDB recognizes the following file extensions as valid DICOM files:
* `*.dicom`
* `*.dcm`
* `*.ima`
## Viewing Data
Within your AltaDB dataset, preview images by clicking on thumbnails. The integrated viewer supports:
1. **Change slice**: Mouse scroll
2. **Windowing**: Right-click+drag
3. **Zoom**: Left-click+drag
4. **Pan**: Middle mouse+drag
## Searching & Filtering
Filter your AltaDB dataset by:
1. **Series UID**
2. **Study UID**
3. **Import ID**: Unique identifier for each import batch
4. **Created by**: User who uploaded the series
5. **Imported at**: Upload date and time
## Using AltaDB in RedBrick AI Projects
Since AltaDB is integrated into RedBrick AI, you can directly use your AltaDB datasets in projects.
You can either add it to your project or workspace directly from AltaDB or by downloading a JSON file.
### Task Configuration Options
When creating tasks from AltaDB datasets, you can include:
* [Task and Series metadata](/python-sdk/formats/full-format-reference#items-list-and-tasksjson)
* [Task Priority](/projects/tasks-and-assignment#task-prioritization) for workflow optimization
* [Task pre-assignment](/projects/tasks-and-assignment#programmatically-assigning-tasks) to specific annotators
* [Pre-existing annotations](/python-sdk/formats/full-format-reference#segmentations-and-segmentmap) for review or refinement
## Performance Demonstrations
Experience the speed improvements with AltaDB:
## Getting Help
For assistance with AltaDB:
* Check the [RedBrick AI documentation](/)
* Contact support through your RedBrick AI dashboard
* Visit our [troubleshooting guide](/troubleshooting/master-guide)