New Delhi: In a landmark effort to preserve and advance mental health research, the National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, has launched the world’s largest archival patient records digitisation initiative. Named the NIMHANS Archiving Digital Initiative (NADI), this digital repository houses over 37,000 meticulously catalogued patient records dating as far back as the 1890s.

The historic archive was formally inaugurated earlier this week at the institute’s Heritage Museum by NIMHANS Director, Prof. Pratima Murthy. Highlighting its significance, NIMHANS shared on the social media platform X that NADI provides “a rare glimpse into over a century of mental health and neuroscience history at our institution.”

The digitised records trace the evolution of mental health care in India, covering periods from the era of the Mysore Lunatic Asylum to the establishment of the All-India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH) in 1954, which later merged with the Mental Hospital to form NIMHANS in 1974.

According to NIMHANS, the archival collection spans a wide range of conditions, from psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression to neurological illnesses like epilepsy and dementia, and even neurosurgical cases involving head injuries and tumours. Each inpatient record, the institute noted, reflects the diagnostic understanding of its time and includes detailed treatment approaches and outcomes.

To make this extensive archive accessible to students and researchers, NIMHANS has used KOHA, an open-source Integrated Library System, to categorise and catalogue the data systematically. However, the institute clarified that access to these sensitive records will be governed by strict administrative and ethical approvals, with detailed guidelines to be issued for training and research use.

“This initiative marks a significant step in preserving both our institution's and the country's mental health and neuroscience heritage,” NIMHANS said in a statement, adding that the digitised archive would not only aid researchers in studying diagnostic and treatment trends but also offer insights into the socio-medical context of mental health care in India over the past century.

With this ambitious digitisation effort, NIMHANS reaffirms its commitment to supporting future research while honouring its historical legacy in the field of mental health and neuroscience.