Competing Anatomy Specifications, Ontologies, XML Vocabulariesand Data Dictionaries

[Rex Brooks <rexb@starbourne.com>]

Title: Competing Anatomy Specifications, Ontologies, XML Voca

Hi Folks,

Since I wrote to Dr. Cornelius Rosse more than a week ago now, April 19, I think it will be acceptable that I simply include our interest in his work with the Digital Anatomist Foundational Model within the University of Washington School of Medicine in this message. My inquiry into the Protege-Readable Anatomical Ontology is part of my exploration of accepted human anatomy specifications, standards, ontologies, data dictionaries, and references commonly used or required in medicine, public health and safety and various levels of government from local to state or province to national and/or international. I am now attempting to cover all of my bases when I ask for all relevant references and inputs for the work of the OASIS HumanMarkup Technical Committee, Human Physical Characteristics Description Markup Language (HPCDML) Subcommittee.

The Charter and Mission Statement for this subcommittee is currently in the process of a vote to approve it by the Technical Committee, so I am attaching it in two versions, Word and rtf with the proviso that it is unofficial as of 28 April 2003. The subcommittee is also in the process of formal inauguration within the new OASIS structural system. However, I can assure you that I expect that it will be approved and duly adopted and that the subcommittee will begin its formal work soon.

My concern is that there appear to be competing ontologies and standardized markup vocabularies or language standard efforts working on this vital and necessary endeavor. So, since my aim is to harmonize and ensure interoperability of the existing accepted standards, I am seeking aid in my work to identify such standards and ongoing efforts aimed at constructing such standards.

In this particular context, I am seeking guidance on obtaining all relevant to ANATML (of which I was apprised more than a year ago, but which had appeared to be moribund until recently, and is closely related to a for-profit corporation which may make it less attractive or perhaps unavailable for use in an open, public, royalty-free standard)

http://www.physiome.org.nz/sites/physiome/anatml/pages/index.html

and The Digital Anatomist Foundational Model

http://sig.biostr.washington.edu/projects/fm/AboutFM.html

and their value in relation to each other and the overall field described in the charter/mission document attached.

Since the Digital Anatomist is unavailable to the public, I can't compare it to ANATML. ANATML is dated 2000, and consists of a DTD, which is usable, but its relation to a for-profit corporation, despite being developed The University of Auckland, NZ, makes it uncertain for our use.

These appear to be the two candidates for the more purely anatomical interests of our subcommittee, and I want to emphasize that anatomy is just one of a set of issues with which HPCDML will be concerned.

I will be more than pleased to send to this set of addrressees the paper on the body of standards and specifications the HPCDML identifies as required for coverage within its charter when we decide that we have researched this area sufficiently for a first draft of a requirements document for the subcommittee.

Thanks very much, and I do hope this is not an intrusion.

Regards,

Rex

-- 

Rex Brooks
President, Stabourne Communications Design
Executive Director, Humanmarkup.org, Inc.
Vice Chair, Secretary, OASIS HumanMarkup Technical Committee
Chair OASIS Human Physical Characteristics Description Markup Language Subcommittee
Member Web Services for Interactive Applications Technical Committee
Chair Web Services for Remote Portal Markup Subcommittee
Member OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee

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HM.HPCDML.Charter-Mission.doc

HM.HPCDML.Charter-Mission.rtf