Welcome

Medical informatics is a multidisciplinary science at the intersection of computer science and medicine. Covering a wide field from clinical databases to image analysis and robotic surgery, medical informatics has become an inherent part of most medical disciplines.

Computer science methodology is constantly being developed and applied to obtain new medical information, but medical informatics is to a large extent the study of information: its structure, communication, and its use. Scientists and clinicians routinely confront conflicting sources of knowledge and increasing amounts of data. This medical information needs to be structured, analyzed, and communicated. Subsequent clinical results need to be monitored and reported.

Main Activities

With the goal of being at the forefront of medical informatics both nationally and internationally, research and development is central in our activities. Our research is focused on large-scale genomic instability with an emphasis on image analysis of DNA ad chromatin organisation. Our development projects are focused on clinical and research data management, quality indicators, quality assurance, and Net medicine.

  • Nucleotyping

    The structural pattern of DNA and chromatin in the cell nucleus holds information about the genomic status. We have found it particularly useful in describing large scale genomic instability in tumours, and have found that such instability correlates well with clinical prognosis. We have developed a concept called Nucleotyping, using high resolution image analysis to classify nuclei on the basis of its DNA content and chromatin structure.

  • DNA Ploidy

    In cytometry, the term DNA ploidy is used to state either the DNA content of a cell or the total DNA distribution in a cell population. We measure DNA Ploidy by automatic image cytometry, based on cytochemical staining of DNA. We use DNA Ploidy as a prognostic factor predicting disease free survival for patients with certain gynaecological or urological cancers, and are presently investigating the potential clinical usage within colorectal cancers.

  • MEDinsight

    MEDinsight is the hospital's most important quality registry. It is a portal that integrates clinical and research data from all of our various systems and functions as the interface to register treatment data for quality indicators MEDinsight's filter enables the user to see the data to which he has access. This quality registry gives both the management and clinicians a better overview of the treatment process and new research methods, automates obligatory registration routines in accordance with statutory requirements, and facilitates access to research results.

  • Quality Indicators

    A quality indicator is an indirect measurement of or pointer to quality in the area where a measurement is being made. The project is developing tools and methods to collect the data that will provide the public and medical professionals with information about the quality of health services at Rikshospitalet HF. This information is published on www.kvalitetsindikatorer.no

  • Oncolex

    Oncolex is a Web-based multimedia encyclopedia for cancer diagnosis and treatment where patients and health professionals can obtain up-to-date information. The content is developed by experts in the field and procedures are described in detail using text, illustrations, photographs, animations, and video. Oncolex will be the main portal for cancer professionals and will be completed by 2008. www.oncolex.no

2007 Project Overview

Click on the poster to see a larger view (200k) or Download a PDF (4mb) ofthe poster.

Organization

The department is headed by Professor Håvard E. Danielsen,a geneticist with a Ph.D in Medicine from the University of Oslo. Danielsen was appointed visiting professor in the Department of Genomic medicine at Sheffield University in England from 2001 and professor at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo from 2007. He is also the operational leader of Imaging. Head of Clinical Informatics is Dr Gunnar Kristensen, a gynecological oncologist from Denmark with a Ph.D from the University of Oslo. Net Medicine is headed by Arne Jørgen Ryther Electronic Engineer/Bioengineer. Head of Bioinformatics is Prof Eivind Hovig, another geneticist with his Ph.D from the Medical faculty and professor at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo.

Organization chart