PROJECT GOALS

Objectives of the O2I (Oncology over Internet) project are the design, development and implementation of a prototype intelligent system, available online through Internet, that is able to:

• allow for execution of a predefined set of complex searches on heterogenous databanks and web sites,
• access those databanks and web sites involved in the predefined searches by means of new ICT standards, when available, and carry out the requested searches,
filter and integrate the results obtained through the searches and send them in an aggregate format to the end users.

The prototype system will rely on a flexible meta knowledge base: this will include all predefined searches and, for each of them, the following elements:

• the list of involved databanks and web sites,
• the list of the information that must be queried/retrieved,
• methods for accessing the involved databanks,
• methods for querying the involved databanks,
• methods for extracting information from the involved databanks,
• methods for integrating intermediate results.

The meta knwoledge base will be focussed on oncology. The following three areas of oncology will be separately investigated:

• basic research,
• clinical research,
• dissemination of public interest information.

The expected result is the availability of a prototype system devoted to oncology, adequately tested and validated by oncology researchers, publicly accessible through Internet and exportable.