If one needs cross-domain knowledge, it often becomes a time consuming process to separately query different databases with different user interfaces. For such joint searches a graphical user interface was developed to search linked data in these three databases. Thus we developed CTIM which offers a one-step combined search in 3 different but interdependent databases: ClinicalTrials.gov (clinical trials), PubMed (research literature) and BioSamples (laboratory data and genetic information). This presentation is a first introduction to ECRIN community.

1. CTIM
the Clinical Trial Information
Mediator
W. Kuchinke
15.9.2016, ECRIN Meeting in Paris
Short introduction into the tool for ECRIN

2. Creation of a research questions
●
The creation of a suitable research question
plays a vital role in the research process
●
Researcher uses prior knowledge, data already
available, and literature searches to generates
a hypothesis as basis for future research
activities
●
More and more often information retrieval
requires cross-domain searches through
different databases covering different research
areas

3. A new tool: Clinical Trial Information Mediator
●
Cross-domain searches through different
databases
●
Researchers interested in clinical trials, and who
want to design new studies
●
Finding trial related information in different
biomedical databases is an essential step
●
CTIM was developed to support researcher in
their searches
– Linking clinical trials information to publications and
information about biosamples / genes.
– Bridging the gap between different databases from
different research domains

4. Important aspects of CTIM
●
Linking between clinical trials and publications
not through an ID or a key word (code item), but
through information content that provides the
basis for the queries.
●
The knowledge base for clinical trials is based
on CT.gov database, the largest repository of
clinical trials in the world.
●
CTIM opens clinical trials information to the
biomedical researcher who doesn’t have to
search in CT.gov and PubMed separately

5. Desired features
●
Provides concrete benefits for the user by enabling joint
queries in different databases
●
High degree of user-friendliness by one-field search
(like Google) and an expert search option
●
The tool raises awareness of the dependency of clinical
trials registration and the publication of clinical trials
●
The tool is easier to use and the received results should
be more relevant than the ones for separate searches in
databases
●
The tool should allow permanent updating of the
knowledge base
●
The tool should be extensible so that new data bases or
repositories can be added

6. Availability
●
The current state of the tool, which is still under
development, can be accessed
– http://hhu2.at.xencon.de/web/guest/ctim
●
Krauth C, Kuchinke W, Eckert M, et al. Clinical
Trial Information Mediator. J Biomed Inform.
2016;63:157-168.
– doi:10.1016/j.jbi.2016.08.012

7. Dependencies of databases

8. Search conditions and connectors
Data Connectors
Clinical Trial Metadata Search term
Medical Publications
Pubmed ID, NCT ID, Condition, Intervention name, Primary outcome, Study
type, Search term
Bio samples Condition, Search term

9. Example results: search for CD38
(8 trials were identified)
Trial
number

10. Select NCT00001586
Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia / Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma
…

11. Under development by
●
Christian Krauth
●
Wolfgang Kuchinke
●
Martin Eckert
●
Rene Bergmann
●
Benjamin Braasch
●
Töresin Karakoyun
●
Christian Ohmann
Part of the BioMedBridges project of the EU