QL⁴MDR: a GraphQL query language for ISO 11179-based metadata repositories

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Data Management
• Computer Science

Background:

• Healthcare data integration is challenging due to heterogeneous metadata schemas.
• Existing metadata repositories have limited interoperability, hindering data exchange and reuse.
• A standardized approach is needed to harmonize metadata across diverse systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define a uniform interface for metadata repositories (MDRs) to facilitate metadata exchange and querying.
• To enable cooperation and data integration across distributed medical research systems.
• To address the shortcomings of existing MDR implementations.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging the ISO 11179 international standard for metadata representation.
• Developing a GraphQL schema (QL4MDR) compatible with ISO 11179-3.
• Implementing a uniform interface using GraphQL's query and mutation capabilities.
• Creating a web-based interface prototype for a reference implementation (Samply.MDR).

Main Results:

• QL4MDR provides a standardized data model and query language for MDRs.
• The interface supports searching, creating, updating, and deleting metadata.
• A functional prototype demonstrates the feasibility of the uniform interface.
• Facilitates metadata access, interaction, and connection of existing repositories.

Conclusions:

• A uniform query interface combining ISO 11179 and GraphQL has been developed.
• The QL4MDR approach enhances metadata accessibility and interoperability.
• This work provides a foundation for connecting heterogeneous metadata repositories.
• Encourages adoption by other ISO 11179-compliant metadata repositories.