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Service-oriented Architectures for the Integration of Software-based Processes, exemplified by Health Care Systems and Medical Technology

 

 

Abstract:

 

Service orientation is a promising architectural concept to quickly and cost efficiently couple encapsulated software components ("services"), and to adapt them to new requirements. Service orientation has mainly been suggested for co-operating business processes. However, its application in embedded systems is increasing. Service orientation has evolved from very pragmatic problems and backgrounds. Little attention has been directed to theoretical and conceptual problems of the area. Furthermore, only rudimentary software technology methods for services are available. Examples of systematically constructed service-oriented architectures are presently visible only to a minor degree.

Informatics is a key technology for the innovative organization of health care systems and of medical technology. In comparison with other organizational and embedded systems, the involved processes are more versatile, and the reliability and correctness requirements are higher. Medical processes are usually loosely coupled. Their integration is as much difficult as important. Theoretical and methodological foundations of both the design process and the structure of service-oriented systems might substantially improve today’s information technology

In this situation, this Graduate School starts out with the idea to underpin the currently pragmatically focussed service-oriented approach with theoretical foundations by integrating established as well as emerging software engineering procedures. This approach aims at a decisive improvement of concepts, methods, and tool support for service-oriented system construction.

The scope of innovation of the proposed Graduate School is obvious and far reaching: health care systems as well as medical systems are presently dominated by structures and processes that can substantially be improved by the concepts and methods developed by this Graduate School. The feasibility of the project is guaranteed by all participants’ long standing experience in comparable projects.