Objectives

The project conforms to the objectives of Programme 4 and with the specific objectives of the research domain 1 – Information and Communication Technology , research direction 1.2 Advanced e-service information systems , framing into the research theme 1.2.2 – Information Systems for Health and Environment (e-health) . The project conforms to the scope of of Programme 4 ensuring a collaboration between research-development-innovation entities and business entities, in view to give solutions to a commonly identified problem, namely the creation of new services, knowledge based, meant to improve the population health assistance by preventing the abuse of ionizant radiation procedures and providing the physician with the possibility of obtaining real time information about previous procedures undergone by the patient. As regarding the general objective of Programme 4 , the project complies to it, the partnership which will implement it being multi-disciplinary and able to increase the competitiveness of the R&D activity as a whole, and at each member's level as well. Also, the partnership will develop methods, mechanisms and innovative services addressed both to the physician and patient and simultaneously will create the implementation tools for these results, integrating them into the information system.
The RXINFO project complies with the central objective of the research Domain 1 , as the expected project results represent concrete steps in the increase of R&D capacity within the Information and Communication Technology field, in supporting the knowledge based society and economy.
The proposed information system and electronic services reflect the tendency of the advanced information methods and technologies to penetrate in every field of activity; without them, the durable development based on knowledge is unconceivable. The digital radiology has as advantages: it enables a better management of the storage, transmission and representation of the radiology images, offers new solutions in case of lost or theft of radiology films, it enables also serial comparisons of the patient's investigations and the employ of Computer Aided Diagnosis technology in radiology branch. The CAD Technology is used mainly in mammography units because it increase the radiologists ability to detect early stages of breast tumors, these systems incorporating advanced recognition and complex digital images analysis functions. The implementation of an information system for registration of the X –rays doses received lifelong by each patient, will facilitate not only the improvement of the statistical base regarding the exposure of the Romanian population to ionizant radiations but also a superior patients' management, by correct evaluation of the individual risk and reducing the abuse.
The project is relevant in the context of Programme 4, bringing contributions at the creation and consolidation of a balanced partnership between R&D entities and giving solutions by means of specific ICT methods at an important issue of the health domain –a national priority. The project is relevant in the context of Romanian strive to comply to the exigencies of the European Union as well.

The scope of the project

The project scope is the implementation of an information system to store data, associated with ionizant radiation based medical procedures applied to patients all over the country. The system will store in a centralized database the values of the radiation doses received by each patient and the web address where the corresponding resulted images are available. The access to the stored data will be granted to the radiology physicians, based on identity/ authentication information. The system will implement the electronic signature function as main element of authentication for the radiology physician. The images resulting of procedures will be stored into the local databases of the medical units where they were performed. These databases will be interconnected ensuring a secured access for the radiology physicians. The Internet transfer of the files containing images will be encrypted, using the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) mechanism, based on the pair of keys public key - private key . The system will provide the radiology physician data regarding the ionizant radiation doses received previously by the respective patient, helping him to take a decision related to the opportunity of a new exposure to radiation. Also, the radiology physician will be able to access, via the information system, the databases where images resulted from past undergone investigations are stored and upload them in secure conditions. Another project aim is the analysis, based on the available case studies, of the impact of the repeated exposures to ionizant radiation on human body. Also there will be made an inventory of the specific equipment categories in exploit in our country. There will be studied new methods of CAD (Computer Aided Diagnosis) as well as the types and formats of the images resulted by using this method.