The realization in Protege of an Ontology for Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems

Heart failure is a condition that affects more than 20 million people around the world, especially in industrialized countries (nearly 5 million in the United States). The failure usually happens when the heart becomes damaged and weak. Eventually, the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. The ultimate therapy for such a failure is heart transplantation, but it is limited by the shortage of heart donors. Since decades researchers have been working to solve this problem by developing Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems (MCSS) that can replace or assist the failing heart. Nowadays there is a great variety of MCSS available in the market and this is certainly a positive thing, but it may also create confusion among the decision makers who have the choose the optimal solution for their needs. The major problem concerning such a difficult choice is the lack of uniformity in the information available in this field of cardiovascular medicine.