2007/07/05 by F. Estrella, Estrella, F., Tamás Hauer +14
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · #Distributed and Parallel Computing Systems #Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques #Scientific Computing and Data Management #cs.DC
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0707.0748
18 pages, 2 tables, 5 figures. In press International Journal of Medical Informatics. Elsevier publishers
arxiv created 2007/07/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
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.