Flexible R&D integration platform of process informatics for automated medical applications and mobile data acquisition

In medical studies, an increasingly decentralized automated information acquisition occurs. Innovations assume for example a multi-parameter mobile sensor system combined with compact mobile computers (such as PDAs) communicating via Bluetooth or other wireless interfaces. Data sets from manual investigations and automated examination procedures arise in distributed systems. This results in above-average requirements of configuration for medical R&D applications. On the other hand in medical research projects involving test persons, there is a need for accumulating data from various examinations, for selecting data sets according to any criteria and for using the data on different targets. Fulfilling these demands, an open Web-based integration platform was developed. It is based on a workflow-oriented information management for laboratory and examination characteristic processes, picking up experiences of flexible, hierarchical laboratory automation. A process mapping and communication framework is proposed for workflow documentation as well as systems coupling with mobile medical data acquisition. It can be freely configured for application in medical examination by including process automation. Challenges of a universal, decentralized acquisition of arbitrary even time-based process parameters are archived by using service-oriented communication protocols. An exemplary project presentation illustrates potential and advantages of the developed integration platform.