Experience building a Large, Re-usable Medical Ontology using a Description Logic with Transitivity and Concept Inclusions
Alan L. Rector, Ian Horrocks · 1997
The European GALEN project is developing terminology services based on a large, re-usable medical ontology. The ontology is being built using GRAIL, a description logic with transitivity and general concept inclusions. Introduction The GALEN Project and GRAIL Language GALEN is a European Union funded programme developing terminology services based on a Common Reference Model for medical terminology. It is seen as a key element in an overall architecture for integrating clinical information systems (Rector et al. 1995). The project is currently in its second phase, GALENIN -USE, which is developing terminologies for medical procedures in cooperation with the European Federation of Classification Centres and demonstrating the GALEN technology in data entry and natural language modules for commercial clinical systems. The current basic model contains roughly 8,000 concepts; extensions for applications range up to 10,000 predefined concepts, and by the end of the project several extensio...