In recent years, as newer technologies have evolved around the healthcare ecosystem, more and more data have been generated. Advanced analytics could power the data collected from numerous sources, both from healthcare institutions, or generated by individuals themselves via apps and devices, and lead to innovations in treatment and diagnosis of diseases; improve the care given to the patient; and empower citizens to participate in the decision-making process regarding their own health and well-being. However, the sensitive nature of the health data prohibits healthcare organizations from sharing the data. The Personal Health Train (PHT) is a novel approach, aiming to establish a distributed data analytics infrastructure enabling the (re)use of distributed healthcare data, while data owners stay in control of their own data. The main principle of the PHT is that data remain in their original location, and analytical tasks visit data sources and execute the tasks. The PHT provides a distributed, flexible approach to use data in a network of participants, incorporating the FAIR principles. It facilitates the responsible use of sensitive and/or personal data by adopting international principles and regulations. This paper presents the concepts and main components of the PHT and demonstrates how it complies with FAIR principles.

Purpose One of the most frequently cited radiomics investigations showed that features automatically extracted from routine clinical images could be used in prognostic modeling. These images have been made publicly accessible via The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA). There have been numerous requests for additional explanatory metadata on the following datasets — RIDER, Interobserver, Lung1, and Head–Neck1. To support repeatability, reproducibility, generalizability, and transparency in radiomics research, we publish the subjects’ clinical data, extracted radiomics features, and digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) headers of these four datasets with descriptive metadata, in order to be more compliant with findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data management principles. Acquisition and validation methods Overall survival time intervals were updated using a national citizens registry after internal ethics board approval. Spatial offsets of the primary gross tumor volume (GTV) regions of interest (ROIs) associated with the Lung1 CT series were improved on the TCIA. GTV radiomics features were extracted using the open‐source Ontology‐Guided Radiomics Analysis Workflow (O‐RAW). We reshaped the output of O‐RAW to map features and extraction settings to the latest version of Radiomics Ontology, so as to be consistent with the Image Biomarker Standardization Initiative (IBSI). Digital imaging and communications in medicine metadata was extracted using a research version of Semantic DICOM (SOHARD, GmbH, Fuerth; Germany). Subjects’ clinical data were described with metadata using the Radiation Oncology Ontology. All of the above were published in Resource Descriptor Format (RDF), that is, triples. Example SPARQL queries are shared with the reader to use on the online triples archive, which are intended to illustrate how to exploit this data submission. Data format The accumulated RDF data are publicly accessible through a SPARQL endpoint where the triples are archived. The endpoint is remotely queried through a graph database web application at http://sparql.cancerdata.org. SPARQL queries are intrinsically federated, such that we can efficiently cross‐reference clinical, DICOM, and radiomics data within a single query, while being agnostic to the original data format and coding system. The federated queries work in the same way even if the RDF data were partitioned across multiple servers and dispersed physical locations. Potential applications The public availability of these data resources is intended to support radiomics features replication, repeatability, and reproducibility studies by the academic community. The example SPARQL queries may be freely used and modified by readers depending on their research question. Data interoperability and reusability are supported by referencing existing public ontologies. The RDF data are readily findable and accessible through the aforementioned link. Scripts used to create the RDF are made available at a code repository linked to this submissio...

Big data are no longer an obstacle; now, by using artificial intelligence (AI), previously undiscovered knowledge can be found in massive data collections. The radiation oncology clinic daily produces a large amount of multisource data and metadata during its routine clinical and research activities. These data involve multiple stakeholders and users. Because of a lack of interoperability, most of these data remain unused, and powerful insights that could improve patient care are lost. Changing the paradigm by introducing powerful AI analytics and a common vision for empowering big data in radiation oncology is imperative. However, this can only be achieved by creating a clinical data science community in radiation oncology. In this work, we present why such a community is needed to translate multisource data into clinical decision aids.

No abstract

No abstract

Highlights Real world data enables model based patient selection and continuous validation. Multisource data selection requires an astute collection and stewardship strategy. Innovations need a flexible data model to facilitate collection between centres. The FAIR principles and knowledge graphs tackle specific data model requirements.

Published in Medical Physics, Vol. 47, No. 11

Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients represent around one third of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients. There remains a large unmet need to find treatment strategies that can improve the survival of these patients while minimizing therapeutical side effects. Increasing the availability of patients’ data (imaging, electronic health records, patients’ reported outcomes, and genomics) will enable the application of AI algorithms to improve therapy selections. In this review, we discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) can be integral to improving clinical decision support systems. To realize this, a roadmap for AI must be defined. We define six milestones involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders, from physicians to patients, that we feel are necessary for an optimal transition of AI into the clinic.