HumanFirst Institute

Measure Ontologies

The first release of a foundational common language to help you select the digital measures that matter
> ABOUT MEASURE ONTOLOGIES

If a digital measure has been reported — it's tagged in Atlas

Give your team the tools they need to develop digital measures for your population with Atlas and our Measure Ontologies

Constructed from systematic literature review and expert curation, our ontologies link 15,000+ measures with reported outcomes and technologies

> SAMPLE CONCEPTS
Cardiopulmonary & Physical Activity
  • Activity duration, frequency, intensity
  • Gait, range of motion, balance
  • Heart rate, heart rhythm, respiratory patterns
Endocrinology, Gastrointestinal & Nutrition
  • Body composition, weight
  • Glucose monitoring, hydration 
Genitourinary & Reproduction
  • Urinary dysfunction, hot flashes, neonatal activity 
Hematology, Oncology, Infectious Diseases & Immunology
  • Blood-based biomarkers, immunological metrics, measures of infectious pathogens
  • Dermatological function, such as scratch 
Neuropsychology, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Sleep
  • Sleep, eye movement, body temperature
  • Cognition, pain, voice/speech 
Non-physiological
  • Ambient light, ambient sound, ambient temperature, location
  • User acceptance, ease of use, quality of life  
> MEASURE CATEGORIES [ALT]
Cardiopulmonary & Physical Activity
Measures across the movement spectrum, cardiopulmonary fitness, and function. Ex: Range of motion, hand strength, lung volume
Endocrinology, Gastrointestinal & Nutrition
Measures related to the body, metabolic function, and disease. Ex: Body composition, body mass index, diabetes mellitus
Genitourinary & Reproduction
A blend of the urinary and reproductive system measures. Ex: Genital function, renal function, neonatal activity
Hematology, Oncology, Infectious Diseases & Immunology
A spectrum of blood-based biomarkers, immunological metrics, measures of infectious pathogens, and dermatological function. Ex: Scratching parameters, blood alcohol concentration
Neuropsychology, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Sleep
Neurological, psychiatric, ophthalmic, and otolaryngology metrics. Ex: Activity during sleep, neural activity, skin temperature
Non-physiological
Many of the measures that might not capture biometric data but remain important to deploying digital health technologies. Ex: Concepts of interest, healthcare outcomes, utility and usability
> USING MEASURE ONTOLOGIES

The only data platform in the world that links digital measures with specific contexts of use

Seamlessly implement the Measures that Matter* framework, moving from Meaningful Aspect of Health (MAH) to Concept of Interest (COI) and then Outcome to be measured

* — Co-authored by our team!

Explore measures related to your study

Find measures in our ontology related to your Concepts of Interest or Meaningful Aspects of Health

Run a targeted literature review

Every measure in Atlas is linked to observed outcomes & can be filtered to your context of use

Understand the full context of a measure

Understand how a measure has been assessed, including conditions and technology — all in a matter of seconds

Driving Towards Measures that Matter

We’ve cataloged over 3,000 measures of activity and 1,000 measures of sleep. These numbers need to shrink, not grow — read how Measure Ontologies make it easier to deploy digital measures in our recent blog post!