Adapted from Phase I: Caregivers need "answers" to questions such as "What is the current thinking on therapy formy patient?" A three dimensional (3D) display of potential answers, e.g., pertinent paragraphs, will letcaregivers use powerful perceptual capabilities to find the right answer quickly. But 3D displays needa semantic organization to be effective. That is, oncology sources such as PDQ and CANERLIT needto be structured by meaning, in order to support content-directed navigation. Information abouttherapies should be together, regardless of its source. In contrast to "scientific visualization", this kindof access to information is called semantic visualization. During Phase I, an inter-disciplinary team will1) design an information environment for oncology care, 2) compare three levels of visualizationtechnology, 3) determine the requirements for semantic source integration, and 4) evaluate theacceptability of the selected semantic visualization to practicing oncologists. Technologies to beevaluated using PDQ include the Xerox PARC Information Visualizer, the Montage Viewer, and theMontage Object-Relational Database. During Phase II, a prototype providing 3D access to PDQ andCANCERLIT will be coupled with one Computer-based Patient Record (CPR) and deployed at an oncologycare site. Phase III will produce a semantic visualization product for use with both local and remotesources.
