ACM TechNews

Visualizing Electronic Health Records With 'Google-Earth for the Body'

IEEE Spectrum (01/08) Charette, Robert N.

A prototype 3D visualization tool for electronic health records (eHRs) that maps the information in the records to an image of the human body has been developed by IBM researchers. By clicking a mouse on a specific area of the image, a doctor calls up information corresponding to that segment. "The 3D coordinates in the model are mapped to anatomical concepts, which serve as an index onto the electronic health record," notes IBM researcher Andre Elisseeff. The displayed images link not only to a patient's eHR, but also to the 300,000 medical terms defined by the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine international standard. The mapper engine project was inspired by discussions the IBM research team had with physicians working at IBM about the problems with using eHR systems, and one doctor said that when presented with the graphical representation of medical data, many doctors seem to recognize what is happening with a patient and uncover the underlying proof faster. Further investigation convinced the researchers "that we needed ... an unstructured, flexible representation of human anatomy, browsing-style navigation with shortcuts, bookmarks, et cetera," Elisseeff recalls. He says the project's chief goal is to shift eHR systems away from an administrative work mode toward a clinician's natural work style, enabling both the physician and the patient to engage as easily as possible with the eHR system. Elisseeff insists that the mapper engine was not created to support diagnosis, which makes practical sense, as studies have demonstrated that doctors are less accepting of IT than other professionals, even when the advantages have been clearly presented.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan08/5854

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