A Review of Methods and Tools for Database Integration in Biomedicine

The post-genomic era, beginning at the end of the Human Genome Project, has led to new needs and challenges in the management of clinical and -omics data. One of the main issues in this new context for biomedical data management is the integration of heterogeneous sources, enabling access to different, remote biological data sources and the interpretation and discovery of new knowledge. Many researchers and practitioners in a wide range of biomedical areas, such as, for instance, all those related to genomic and personalized medicine, have to access these data located at numerous remote sources. Over the last decade, this new scientific context has stimulated research into developing new techniques for seamless web-based data integration and access. Some of the main challenges include the integration of scattered, non-structured public databases, how to deal with sensitive personal information, or how to manage image data. This paper presents a review of methods, techniques and tools for data integration.