Abstract
The Protocol Assistant is a knowledge-based system, developed by the Department of Artificial Intelligence and AIAI at the University of Edinburgh, which advises on the treatment of parotid tumours. It has been developed to support both adherence to a clinical protocol based on the latest evidence and the use of clinical judgment where the evidence is weak or inconsistent. It was developed using a knowledge modelling technique named PROforma, which is specifically designed for representing best practice guidelines; the PROforma models were used as the basis for a user interface, which was implemented in HTML. A set of rules were developed in JESS (the Java Expert System Shell) which were capable of “running” the protocol; a simple method of reasoning with certainties, based on the “goodness” of each relevant item of published evidence, was used to recommend which path to follow at choice points. However, the user is also supplied with access to the abstracts of all relevant published papers, using the hypertext facilities of HTML. The Protocol Assistant can thus be used either as a “wizard” which guides users through the decision making process, or as a “hypertext manual” which leads them to the information relevant to the decision they are making. This dual-role capability is crucial for the acceptance of KBS in the real world.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Maran A.G., Molony N.C., Armstrong M.W.J., and Ah-See K. Is there an evidence base for the practice of ENT surgery? Clinical Otolaryngology 1996; 22:152–157.
Coiera E., Baud R., L. Console, J. Cruz, J. Durinck, P. Frutiger, P. Hucklenbroich, A. Rickards, and K. Spitzer. The Role of Knowledge Based Systems in Clinical Practice. In Knowledge and Decisions in Health Telematics - The Next Decade, P. Barahona and J.P. Christensen (eds), 1994:199–203.
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, Helicobacter Pylori: Eradication Therapy in Dyspeptic Disease. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, August1996
Detmer W.M., and Shortliffe E.H., Using the Internet to Improve Knowledge Diffusion in Medicine. Communications of the ACM, 1997.
The Cochrane Collaboration, Abstracts of Cochrane Reviews, http://www.hcn.net.au/cochrane/abstracts/intro.htm
Musen M.A. and Johnson P.D. Development of a guideline authoring tool with PROTEGE II, based on the DILEMMA Generic Protocol and Guideline Model. Section on Medical Informatics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1997.
Shortliffe E., Studies to Evaluate the ONCOCIN System. Stanford Heuristic Programming Project Report HPP 84–22., Stanford University, 1984.
Simpson J., An Expert System for “Best Practice” in Medicine, Project Report, Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh, June 1998.
J.K.C. Kingston, Re-engineering IMPRESS and X-MATE into CommonKADS, in Research and Development in Expert Systems X, Proceedings of Expert Systems 93, St. John’s College, Cambridge, 13–15 December 1993. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
John K.C. Kingston, Anna Griffith and Terri J. Lydiard, Multi-perspective modelling of Air Campaign Planning. In Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI ‘87), Nagoya, Japan, 23–29 August 1997. AAAI Press, 1997.
Fox J., N. Johns and A. Rahmanzadeh, Protocols for Medical Procedures and Therapies: A Provisional Description of the PROforma Language and Tools. In Proceedings of AIME ‘87. Springer Berlin, 1997.
Smart, J. Hardy. In Airing, the magazine of AIAI, Edinburgh, April 1993:3–7. See also Hardy Information, http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~hardy/hardy/hardy.html
E. Friedman-Hill, JESS home page and JESS manual, http://www.herzberg.ca.sandia.gov/jess
Cohen, P.R. Heuristic Reasoning about Uncertainty: An Artificial Intelligence Approach. Pitmans Boston, 1985.
Krause P., Ambler S., Elvang-Goransson M. & Fox J. A logic of argumentation for reasoning under uncertainty. Computational Intelligence 1995; 11 (1).
Stevens P. Software Engineering with Objects and Components. Computer Science 4 Lecture Notes, University of Edinburgh,1997.
Teach R., and Shortliffe E. An analysis of physician attitudes regarding computer-based clinical consultation systems. Computers and Biomedical Research, 1981;14:542–558.
Shortliffe E., and Davis R. Some considerations for the implementation of knowledge-based expert systems. SIGART Newsletter 1975; 55:9–12.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer-Verlag London
About this paper
Cite this paper
Simpson, J., Kingston, J., Molony, N. (1999). Internet-based Decision Support for Evidence-based Medicine. In: Milne, R.W., Macintosh, A.L., Bramer, M. (eds) Applications and Innovations in Expert Systems VI. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0575-6_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0575-6_11
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-85233-087-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-0575-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive