Linked Data Frenzy
This year’s EU PhUSE Connect event in Frankfurt was entitled, Future Forward. And it seems as if there has been a significant shift towards the use of linked data within our community. We were certainly very busy across the 3 days, with people asking for demonstrations of the Glandon Study Workbench and asking questions about how the tools could bring about organisational change and significant benefits to users. The adoption of cloud technologies, machine learning, and linked data were the buzz words around the conference and that suggests that there are interesting times ahead.
Our Presentations
Of course, Johannes and Tim Williams (UCB) were presenting the Linked Data Workshop on Monday and if you want to see more, please contact us and we will be more than happy to connect you with Johannes. This sold out workshop demonstrates the desire to understand how our industry can benefit from technologies and ideas that underpin services like Google and Facebook.
On Wednesday, we had two presentations in the Standards Implementation stream one from Dave Iberson-Hurst and the other from Kirsten Langendorf.
Dave Iberson-Hurst CTO: Into the FHIR: Linking CDISC & FHIR
The FDA have announced that ‘LOINC Codes will be required in NDAs, ANDAs and BLAs for studies that start after March 15, 2020’. Meanwhile talk continues over integrating clinical research with healthcare and interest expressed in FHIR, the new HL7 standard. Dave’s presentation focused on:
- Mapping CDISC Terminology to LOINC to aid population of SDTM data sets
- Generating SDTM data sets from data held in a database, with that data being extracted from an EHR via FHIR
- The approach taken and technology used and much more.
To a packed audience, Dave demonstrated the power of using linked data to streamline the way we use clinical data and you can read more by downloading Dave’s paper and slides here:
Kirsten Langendorf CDISC Subject Matter Expert: Easing your Pain with Biomedical Concepts
Kirsten’s presentation demonstrated Biomedical concepts in action (using the CDISC pilot study) and how such constructs can be used within studies today, implementing in an iterative manner while supporting current study work. Does your organisation spend significant resources on:
- Study group meetings to clarify what data to collect?
- Specifying study set-up: eCRF/lab specs/ CRF SDTM annotation?
- Creating SDTM data?
- Managing standard CRFs?
You can download Kirsten’s slides and paper here:
As always, our time at the conference was extremely busy and we saw a fundamental shift in the way our industry is starting to understand linked data and the benefits of using it. A3 informatics and S-cubed are in a unique position. Our combined CDISC expertise, domain knowledge and industry leading tools and solutions, ensure we are best placed to support you going forward. If you have any questions about either of the presentations do get in touch through the usual channels.
Linked Data and Neo4j Workshops
We have been asked by a number of clients and colleagues to run some Linked Data and Neo4j workshops. Do you want to be part of our new Linked Data Club meetings? Is this something you or your colleagues would be interested in attending? We are planning to hold workshops in Copenhagen, Basel and Amsterdam but if you would like something on site at your organisation then let us know. You can also catch up with us next year, at PhUSE in Baltimore (Dave and Johannes are presenting or meet us at the booth) and we will also see you at the CDISC European Interchange in May!