Semantic Web Based System for Stroke Clinical Pathways Automation

据世界卫生组织称，中风被认为是全球第二大死亡原因。它也是造成严重和长期残疾的主要原因，包括瘫痪、感觉障碍、记忆和思维问题以及情绪障碍。值得一提的是，在所有其他类型的中风中，颈动脉疾病（CAD）引起的中风往往导致最多的残疾。加拿大中风协会的一项研究表明，加拿大医疗保健系统的中风管理财务成本每年约占加拿大税收的25亿美元。鉴于这些事实，Qwantech正在投资软件技术，允许CAD临床路径的计算机化。临床路径（CPs）是医疗保健计划或图表，详细说明了患有特定疾病的患者护理的基本步骤，描述了患者的预期进展，并减少了医疗实践中任何不希望发生的变化。目前，大多数cp都是纸质的，为了提高医疗效率和质量，需要解决自动化的挑战。值得一提的是，Qwantech正在研究一种软件技术，可以帮助将CAD临床路径与工作场所使用的医疗信息系统结合起来。在这项研究中，我们将协助Qwantech应用最先进的语义网技术，在现有的电子医疗记录（EMR）系统上部署临床路径。使用本体对CAD领域术语进行建模，使用语义Web规则语言对CAD领域推理规则进行建模。在该模型中，CP可以对收集到的规则和知识进行推理，并在CAD的诊断和管理过程中提供自动化的医疗指导和错误检查。在这项研究中开发的算法将允许Qwantech开发软件，使护理团队成员之间能够更好地协作和临床知识共享。这种技术还将确保更高的生产率并降低成本。

Stroke is considered the second leading cause of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization.It is also a leading cause of severe and long-term disabilities, including paralysis, sensory disturbances,problems with memory and thinking, and emotional disturbances. It is worth mentioning that strokes due toCarotid Artery Disease (CAD) tend to cause the most disability among all other types of strokes. A study bythe Canadian Stroke Congress showed that the financial cost of stroke management on Canada's health caresystem amounts to a total of about $2.5 billion per year of Canadian's tax dollar. Given these facts, Qwantech isinvesting in software technology that allows computerization of CAD clinical pathways. Clinical Pathways(CPs) are health care plans or charts that detail the essential steps in the care of patients with a specific disease,describe the expected progress of the patient, and decrease the occurrence of any undesired variability ofmedical practice. At present, most CPs are paper-based and there is a need to address the challenge ofautomating them in order to enhance healthcare efficiency and quality. In particular, Qwantech is investigatingsoftware technology that can help combine CAD clinical pathways with medical information systems used inthe workplace.In this research, we will assist Qwantech to apply state of the art Semantic Web technology to deploy clinicalpathways on existing Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems. Ontology will be used to model CAD CPdomain terms, and Semantic Web Rule language will be used to model CAD domain inference rules. In thismodel, the CP could reason over the collected rules and knowledge, and provide automated medical guidanceand error checking during the diagnosis and management of CAD. The algorithms to be developed in thisresearch will allow Qwantech develop software that enable better collaboration and clinical knowledge sharingamongst members of caregiver team. Such technology will also ensure better productivity and reduce costs.