🚧 Version 0.2 Specification - WIP#
Last updated: July 08, 2026
Overview#
The Dynamic Cell Atlas (DCA) data resource provides 5D fluorescence microscopy datasets in a standardized format that makes them interchangeable for further processing.
The DCA standard aims to be optimized for handling 5D datasets (3D + time + channels). It also supports lower-dimensional data (2D + channels, 2D + time + channels, 3D + channels), but will not be optimized for it.
Use Cases#
The standard is designed to support multiple use cases:
Writing full arrays (data ingest)
Reading full arrays (data processing such as denoising, AI inference)
Reading partial arrays (visualization)
Reading with (pseudo-)random access (training AI models)
Copying full arrays (data management, backup)
While each use case might benefit from further optimization (e.g. chunk size), Zarr v3 chunking + sharding allows us to aim for a single array stored on disk that covers all use cases reasonably well.
Conformance#
Throughout this document, conformance requirements are expressed with descriptive assertions using RFC 2119 terminology:
MUST / REQUIRED / SHALL: Absolute requirement
MUST NOT / SHALL NOT: Absolute prohibition
SHOULD / RECOMMENDED: Strong recommendation
SHOULD NOT / NOT RECOMMENDED: Strong discouragement
MAY / OPTIONAL: Truly optional