OntoFusion: Heterogeneous databases integration based on ontologies (OntoDataClean, OntoAnnotator, Mapping Tool)

OntoFusion: Heterogeneous databases integration based on ontologies (OntoDataClean, OntoAnnotator, Mapping Tool)

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A spanish research group has developed a system based on ontologies for distributed and heterogeneous databases integration which facilitates the homogeneous information retrieval, providing unified access to a set of remote relational databases called OntoFusion. The research group is looking for the licensing of this software.

Detalles

OntoFusion system consists of a set of programmes targeted to distributed and heterogeneous database integration. Figure 1 shows an example of a potential utilization scenario of OntoFusion system.

As can be seen in figure 1, in this scenario there are a series of hospitals and medical and genetic research centres placed in different locations of the globe which have databases with biomedical information. The main purpose of OntoFusion system in this scenario would be to achieve these databases integration so that they can be consulted by researchers in the biomedical community. It is worth clarifying that this software can be used for integrating any type of databases not only biomedical databases without any amendment.

Each one of the programmes making up this collection or suite of programmes plays a different role in OntoFusion system. It should be noted that, although all programmes making up this suite function as a whole in OntoFusion, they must be considered as independent programmes, as they can operate autonomously. The following is a brief description of each one of these programmes and their role within the global context.

OntoDataClean aims to facilitate databases enquiries offering a previous and transparent-for-end-user data preprocessing. OntoDataClean is able to carry out a series of database cleanings. These cleanings would be specified on an ontology, thus enabling a more intuitive process by the person in charge of defining them. OntoDataClean is also able to help the person in charge of generating the ontology with a series of suggestions that facilitate his work, therefore carrying out different analysis of the database desired to be cleaned. All these functionalities would be offered through a simple interface accessible from a web page.

OntoAnnotator aims to automatically construct logic schemes for non-structured sources, so that it receives a collection of texts (with an non-structured source) as input, giving back a logic scheme, (a data model) similar to that of structured sources.

Mapping process carried out by the Mapping Tool results in a function between a data set defined by a physical scheme and another data set defined by a virtual scheme, assigning one or more elements of the second data set to the elements of the first data set. Innovative Aspects: OntoFusion: Use of ontologies for integrating heterogeneous databases. Use of technologies based on web and web 2.0 services (semantics).

OntoDataClean: Integration of requests (over traditional integration of schemes) for distributed sources preprocessing and integration.

OntoAnnotator: facilitates a graphical interface compared to traditional navigation in text mode offered by traditional systems (UMLS), the software is based on an original research work in which text mining techniques are used to convert non-structured databases (textual) into structured databases (traditional). This enables the integration between both types of sources.

Mapping Tool: creation of correspondence ontologies for unifying heterogeneous databases.

Estado de desarrollo

Development phase - Laboratory tested

Propiedad Intelectual

Copyright(s) registered

Nichos de Mercado

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