Bengaluru: NIMHANS launches world’s largest digital archive of mental health records

Bengaluru’s National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences (NIMHANS) has unveiled a pioneering archival initiative aimed at preserving over a century of clinical history in mental health and neurosciences. The NIMHANS Archiving Digital Initiative (NADI) now stands as the world’s largest digitised repository of patient records in this field.

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This monumental archive comprises more than 37,000 patient records, some dating back to the 1890s, and charts the evolution of psychiatric and neurological care in India. The records span the institution's journey from the Mysore Lunatic Asylum through the establishment of the All-India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH) in 1954, culminating in the formation of NIMHANS in 1974 through a merger of AIIMH and the then Mental Hospital.

NADI captures detailed documentation of psychiatric and neurological conditions, including schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, dementia, head injuries, and brain tumours. Each record showcases the prevailing medical understanding and treatment practices of its time.

To ensure structured access, NIMHANS has employed KOHA, an open-source Integrated Library System, for cataloguing. While the archive is intended for academic and research purposes, access will be granted only under strict ethical and administrative guidelines.

Housed at the institute’s Heritage Museum, this initiative not only safeguards India’s clinical heritage but also opens new avenues for scholarly research. With NADI, NIMHANS strengthens its role as a custodian of the nation’s mental health history while fostering a deeper understanding of care practices through the decades.