Ontological analysis of clinical endoscopy, a feasibility study

Abstract

Ontological investigation has been applied to the health care field in several areas, such as disease terminology and clinical guidelines. However, few reports have adopted an ontological approach to clinical procedures. This study attempts ontological analysis to the procedure of endoscopy, and feasibility and problems were discussed. Physician's actions during gastrointestinal endoscopy were decomposed by an ontological approach. The endoscopic procedure was classified and flows of the procedure are described using a river-flow model. The procedures of endoscopy were successfully described within ontological concepts. Ontological analysis and description of surgical procedure can be applied in many areas, including medical training, ergonomic workflow management and development of surgical robotics. However, difficulties remain in mapping concurrencies and repetitive processing. Complicated and troublesome procedures of ontological analysis should be improved. Also needs for computer software that provides simple and practical analysis of clinical procedures was shown in this study.