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Motivation. The UMLS has been used in natural language processing applications such as information retrieval and information extraction systems. The mapping of free-text to UMLS concepts is important for these applications. To improve the mapping, we need a method to disambiguate terms that possess multiple UMLS concepts. In the general English domain, machine-learning techniques have been applied to sense-tagged corpora, in which senses (or concepts) of ambiguous terms have been [...]

This article describes an innovative software toolkit that allows the creation of web applications that facilitate the acquisition, integration, and dissemination of multimedia biomedical data over the web, thereby reducing the cost of knowledge sharing. There is a lack of high-level web application development tools suitable for use by researchers, clinicians, and educators who are not skilled programmers. Our Web Interfacing Repository Manager (WIRM) is a software toolkit that reduces [...]

To evaluate the benefits of computerized physician order entry (POE) and electronic medication administration record (eMAR) on the delivery of health care.

Computer technology from the management of individual patient medical records to the tracking of epidemiologic trends has become an essential part of all aspects of modern medicine. Consequently, computers, including bedside components, point-of-care testing equipment, and handheld computer devices, are increasingly present in patients' rooms. Recent articles have indicated that computer hardware, just as other medical equipment, may act as a reservoir for microorganisms and contribute to the transfer of [...]

Usability evaluations are a powerful tool that can assist developers in their efforts to optimize the quality of their web environment. This underutilized, experimental method can serve to move applications toward true user-centered design. This article describes the usability methodology and illustrates its importance and application by describing a usability study undertaken at the Mayo Clinic for the purpose of improving an academic research web environment. Academic institutions struggling in [...]

Major efforts are being made to improve the teaching of human anatomy to foster cognition of visuospatial relationships. The Visible Human Project of the National Library of Medicine makes it possible to create virtual reality-based applications for teaching anatomy. Integration of traditional cadaver and illustration-based methods with Internet-based simulations brings us closer to this goal. Web-based three-dimensional Virtual Body Structures (W3D-VBS) is a next-generation immersive anatomical training system for teaching [...]

Clinical study data management systems (CSDMSs) have many similarities to clinical patient record systems (CPRSs) in their focus on recording clinical parameters. Requirements for ad hoc query interfaces for both systems would therefore appear to be highly similar. However, a clinical study is concerned primarily with collective responses of groups of subjects to standardized therapeutic interventions for the same underlying clinical condition. The parameters that are recorded in CSDMSs tend [...]