May 2024

The Disc4All consortium’s research on intervertebral disc degeneration generates and utilizes a substantial amount of primary and secondary data. Data reusability, repurposing and heterogenous sources create the need for data curation. This paper outlines the strategies employed to bridge the gap between primary and secondary data sources. This involves the use of infrastructures and platforms with standardized data models and architectures that interface with each other seamlessly at the data storage and management layer and the use of ontologies at the semantic layer. Functionality and technical integration capacity tests are done to validate the technical effectiveness of the data storage and management layer and all testcases successfully pass and a comprehensive taxonomy is defined for the semantic layer. A meta(data) protocol is defined to guide data curation efforts and maturity model that employs a data curator log are enforced to serve as a tool for gauging the level of exchangeability and reusability of data. The outcomes demonstrate viability and reliability of the implemented data management framework to foster data collaboration.

Disc4All Consortium