Health Search and the Semantic Web

November 22nd, 2008 by Guest Author
Posted in Guest Authors, News | 1 Comment »

Guest Author Walter Jessen from the Highlight HEALTH blog

Before it gets too far behind us, I wanted to write briefly about the Health 2.0 Conference, which was held in San Francisco on October 22 and 23rd. The Health 2.0 Conference focuses on the application of Web 2.0 technologies to the fields of medicine and health care. Specifically, I wanted to comment on health search, the semantic web and the demonstration of the health 2.0 service iMedix.

Search engines today rely extensively on keywords. However, with health-related searches, context or meaning takes on great importance. Consider this: a study earlier this summer found that simply replacing the search term “vaccine safety” with “vaccine danger” replaced virtually all accurate search results (out of the first 20) with inaccurate results [1]. Granted, there are several limitations to the study (small sample size, controversial topic), but it nonetheless illustrates how a single keyword can dramatically alter search results.

Frequently, health search results are incomplete, inaccurate or altogether wrong. Indeed, although there is a large amount of reliable health information online, an equal or greater amount of misinformation also exists. Many health seekers have grown accustomed to repeatedly reviewing search results, revising the search criteria and searching again until they find the right keywords that return the desired information. Ultimately, health seekers are faced with determining which sources of information are reliable. One way to confront this issue is to discard the traditional search engine approach based on keywords and use Semantic Web technology.

Semantic Web: an extension of the World Wide Web in which the semantics or meaning of information and services on the Web is defined (i.e. the use of a set of formal rules to express the meaning of data, the properties of objects and the relationships that exist between them), making it possible for the information to be accessible to machines. In the Semantic Web model, data on the Internet contains contextual meaning; search engines can query contextual information to identify the websites related to the desired topic instead of simply returning sites that contain a given keyword(s).

One company embracing Semantic Web technology to improve health search is iMedix.  As part of the series on Social Networks and Health, I recently reviewed iMedix at Highlight HEALTH 2.0:

Using medical semantic technology to translate health questions into a series of weighted medical terms, iMedix returns relevant search results from top-rated sources. iMedix CEO and cofounder Amir Leitersdorf presented a demo of the health 2.0 service at the Health 2.0 Conference. The fast-paced iMedix demo (presenters were only allotted 4 minutes for each presentation) provides a nice overview of what happens “behind the scenes” when a question is posted to the iMedix community.

For more articles on Web 2.0 in health and medicine, visit Highlight HEALTH 2.0. Is there a specific health 2.0 website you visit regularly and would like to review? Are you interested in writing a guest post or co-blogging about social health networks and the integration of Web 2.0 technologies into health and medicine? Let me know! My hope is that we can teach each other and help people become more familiar with these websites and what they have to offer. Perhaps you’d even like to contribute to Highlight HEALTH. Leave a comment for more information.

Here’s some additional resources to learn more about the recent Health 2.0 Conference:

Additional Health 2.0 resources are listed in the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory.

References

  1. Kortum et al. The impact of inaccurate Internet health information in a secondary school learning environment. J Med Internet Res. 2008 Jun 30;10(2):e17.
    View abstract

Holiday Shopping with TheFind’s Larisa Hall

November 22nd, 2008 by Guest Author
Posted in Guest Authors, Shopping | Comments Off

Holiday shopping. Never before have those 2 little words struck so much fear into the hearts and minds of even the strongest men and women.   I won’t rehash the bad news – I think we’ve all heard enough of that –  rather I’d like to focus on the silver lining amidst this storm.  These tough times actually mean that a huge wave of brand-name clothing, jewelry, electronics, beauty products, sports gear and home furnishings areavailable at never-seen-before low, low prices.  Gift-giving may actually be easier this year, given the deals that are out there. The sales are off the charts – now all you need to do is find them.

Here at TheFind, we are a shopping search engine whose goal is to bring together all stores, brands and products in one place – so you can always find anything and everything.  We have over 275 million products housed under our one virtual roof.  Everything from the biggest departments stores, to the smallest boutiques, to the most specialized retailers – in other words, everyone!

We also give you features that allow you to hone in on what matters most to you.  Just in time for this ultra-budget-conscious Holiday Shopping season, we have launched a new “offer” icon on all of the products and stores that have any deals ranging from free shipping, to coupons, to percent off sales, and more.

Simply search for a product – in my case, I’m looking for the perfect pencil skirt – and in the results you will see an “offer” icon in the top right hand corner of the product tile.  When you hover your mouse over the tile, you will get detailed information on the product and a list of all available online deals and promotions.

Yes, our virtual roof got a lot larger in order to house all of this information together in one place!

We also like to be realistic about the way people really shop.  We live in a three dimensional world.  Most people don’t only shop online, just as most people don’t only hop in the car and shop in physical stores.  The reasons to use both online and offline means are plentiful – you get to see the widest selection, you can find the best prices, and you get to choose what is most convenient for you.

That’s why we’ve just released our iPhone app, TheFind: Where to Shop.On the website, we automatically detect your location and can show you only the local stores in your area.  Now you don’t have to sit in front of your computer all day in order to accomplish this – instead, our iPhone app lets you carry this local and online information with you wherever you go.  You can literally be standing in a store, looking at a product, and conduct a search on our app to see what other people are charging for that same item.

Or maybe you are traveling somewhere, and are looking for the nearest Nordstrom in an unfamiliar area?  Search for Nordstrom on our app, and we’ll map it for you and even provide their phone number so you can give them a call.

I think we are all looking forward to saving some money this year, by shopping smarter than ever before.  Hopefully with tools like these – and a little creativity thrown in – we can all whether this storm. As for the fourth dimension – time – I think we can probably save some of that, too!