A framework for the application of knowledge technology to the management of diseases

Abstract

Medical diagnosis and treatment constitute a network of inter‐related processes. The conventional method of medical diagnosis and treatment of diseases involves a state space search of the medical knowledge of diseases and patient history, which could be combinatorially explosive. This paper presents a report on the experimental study of an intelligent, interactive, user‐friendly, knowledge‐based system which performs a stepwise analysis of a patient's complaints, filtering cognitive and emotional elements to be able to make inferences. It applies both forward and backward chaining in making inferences concerning the management of disease. A case study of the system is carried out using some tropical diseases. It is believed that the system will serve as a useful contribution towards tropical medical informatics.

Citation

Uzoka, F.M.E. and Famuyiwa, J.O. (2004), "A framework for the application of knowledge technology to the management of diseases", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 194-204. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526860410541513