Two World Health Organization Radiation Medical Emergency Preparedness and Assistance
Network centers have constructed a standardized central repository of acute radiation
syndrome case histories. The case histories are stored on a database server. Radiation
protection centers can remotely access the database by user-friendly client software
over the Internet. Physicians can use the medical information system to retrieve similar
case histories for decision support, to improve their medical knowledge by inspecting
real case histories, and for research on the acute radiation syndrome. The system
architecture is presented and it is shown in detail how the information system can
be employed to deliver medical decision support. Dialogue-response times over narrow-bandwidth
Internet connections are better than when using conventional World-Wide-Web technology.
However, the latter does not require the installation of client software other than
a browser. A JavaTM applet as client could combine the advantages of the two approaches.
Keywords
Medical Case Repository - Internet - Graphical User Interface - Decision Support System
- Acute Radiation Syndrome - World-Wide-Web