Abstract
Linked Data is a promising technology for knowledge integration on the web. Many research groups have developed ontologies and terminologies, and recently, they have published a wide variety of Linked Data in the biomedical domain. We have systematized an ontology of abnormal states in the definition of diseases. For effective use of existing biomedical data, one of the difficulties is a conceptual discrepancy rather than a superficial one since data are heterogeneous. This article focuses on knowledge integration with Linked Data in terms of abnormal states. First, we discuss ontological issues of reusing and integrating knowledge of abnormal states in existing biomedical resources. Next, we introduce our ontology of abnormal states. By using our ontology and making explicit the meaning of each concept, we show a solution for the integration. Then, applying a Linked Data technology, we introduce a prototype system to link our ontology as a hub of existing resources across species. In cooperation with disease ontology, we demonstrate finding commonality of causal relationships of abnormal states between diseases across clinical departments. Our approach will bring benefits to fill the gap between basic research and clinical medicine, and contribute to disease knowledge integration of good practice.
