arXiv subjects

F. Estrella

Publications and source records attributed to F. Estrella.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2007

Experiences of Engineering Grid-Based Medical Software

Objectives: Grid-based technologies are emerging as potential solutions for managing and collaborating distributed resources in the biomedical domain. Few examples exist, however, of successful implementations of Grid-enabled medical systems and even fewer have been deployed for evaluation in practice. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the use in clinical practice of a Grid-based imaging prototype and to establish directions for engineering future medical Grid developments and their subsequent deployment. Method: The MammoGrid project has deployed a prototype system for clinicians using the Grid as its information infrastructure. To assist in the specification of the system requirements (and for the first time in healthgrid applications), use-case modelling has been carried out in close collaboration with clinicians and radiologists who had no prior experience of this modelling technique. A critical qualitative and, where possible, quantitative analysis of the MammoGrid prototype is presented leading to a set of recommendations from the delivery of the first deployed Grid-based medical imaging application. Results: We report critically on the application of software engineering techniques in the specification and implementation of the MammoGrid project and show that use-case modelling is a suitable vehicle for representing medical requirements and for communicating effectively with the clinical community. This paper also discusses the practical advantages and limitations of applying the Grid to real-life clinical applications and presents the consequent lessons learned.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2004

Grid Databases for Shared Image Analysis in the MammoGrid Project

The MammoGrid project aims to prove that Grid infrastructures can be used for collaborative clinical analysis of database-resident but geographically distributed medical images. This requires: a) the provision of a clinician-facing front-end workstation and b) the ability to service real-world clinician queries across a distributed and federated database. The MammoGrid project will prove the viability of the Grid by harnessing its power to enable radiologists from geographically dispersed hospitals to share standardized mammograms, to compare diagnoses (with and without computer aided detection of tumours) and to perform sophisticated epidemiological studies across national boundaries. This paper outlines the approach taken in MammoGrid to seamlessly connect radiologist workstations across a Grid using an "information infrastructure" and a DICOM-compliant object model residing in multiple distributed data stores in Italy and the UK

cs.DB↗

arXiv1998

Detector Construction Management and Quality Control: Establishing and Using a CRISTAL System

The CRISTAL (Cooperating Repositories and an Information System for Tracking Assembly Lifecycles) project is delivering a software system to facilitate the management of the engineering data collected at each stage of production of CMS. CRISTAL captures all the physical characteristics of CMS components as each sub-detector is tested and assembled. These data are retained for later use in areas such as detector slow control, calibration and maintenance. CRISTAL must, therefore, support different views onto its data dependent on the role of the user. These data viewpoints are investigated in this paper. In the recent past two CMS Notes have been written about CRISTAL. The first note, CMS 1996/003, detailed the requirements for CRISTAL, its relationship to other CMS software, its objectives and reviewed the technology on which it would be based. CMS 1997/104 explained some important design concepts on which CRISTAL is and showed how CRISTAL integrated the domains of product data man- agement and workflow management. This note explains, through the use of diagrams, how CRISTAL can be established for detector production and used as the information source for analyses, such as calibration and slow controls, carried out by physicists. The reader should consult the earlier CMS Notes and conference papers for technical detail on CRISTAL - this note concentrates on issues surrounding the practical use of the CRISTAL software.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv1998

From Design to Production Control Through the Integration of Engineering Data Management and Workflow Management Systems

At a time when many companies are under pressure to reduce "times-to-market" the management of product information from the early stages of design through assembly to manufacture and production has become increasingly important. Similarly in the construction of high energy physics devices the collection of (often evolving) engineering data is central to the subsequent physics analysis. Traditionally in industry design engineers have employed Engineering Data Management Systems (also called Product Data Management Systems) to coordinate and control access to documented versions of product designs. However, these systems provide control only at the collaborative design level and are seldom used beyond design. Workflow management systems, on the other hand, are employed in industry to coordinate and support the more complex and repeatable work processes of the production environment. Commercial workflow products cannot support the highly dynamic activities found both in the design stages of product development and in rapidly evolving workflow definitions. The integration of Product Data Management with Workflow Management can provide support for product development from initial CAD/CAM collaborative design through to the support and optimisation of production workflow activities. This paper investigates this integration and proposes a philosophy for the support of product data throughout the full development and production lifecycle and demonstrates its usefulness in the construction of CMS detectors.

physics.ins-det↗