[Smart eye data : Development of a foundation for medical research using Smart Data applications]

Smart Data means intelligent data accumulation and the evaluation of large data sets. This is particularly important in ophthalmology as more and more data are being created. Increasing knowledge and personalized therapies are expected by combining clinical data from electronic health records (EHR) with measurement data.

In this study we investigated the possibilities to consolidate data from measurement devices and clinical data in a data warehouse (DW).

An EHR was adjusted to the needs of ophthalmology and the contents of referral letters were extracted. The data were imported into a DW overnight. Measuring devices were connected to the EHR by an HL7 standard interface and the use of a picture archiving and communications system (PACS). Data were exported from the review software using a self-developed software. For data analysis the software was modified to the specific requirements of ophthalmology.

In the EHR 12 graphical user interfaces were created and the data from 32,234 referral letters were extracted. A total of 23 diagnostic devices could be linked to the PACS and 85,114 optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans, 19,098 measurements from IOLMaster as well as 5,425 pentacam examinations were imported into the DW including over 300,000 patients. Data discovery software was modified providing filtering methods.

By building a DW a foundation for clinical and epidemiological studies could be implemented. In the future, decision support systems and strategies for personalized therapies can be based on such a database.