Time-Oriented Features for Medical Consultation Systems

Med ica l c o n s u l t a t i o n system i s one o f t h e major a p p l i c a t i o n o f a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e r e s e a r c h , and i n t h i s f i e l d , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o t r e a t t i m e o r i e n t e d d a t a . The a u t h o r s deve loped a system named MECS-Al (MEd ica l C o n s u l t a t i o n System b y means o f A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e ) , wh ich i s des igned as a g e n e r a l purpose t o o l f o r c o n s t r u c t i n g systems w i t h c a p a b i l i t y t o t r e a t t i m e o r i e n t e d d a t a . The b a s i c i d e a o f t h i s system i s t o d e s c r i b e t he t ime f l o w as a c h a i n o f d i s c r e t e e v e n t s . As a g e n e r a l purpose t o o l , t h e system c o n s i s t s o f an i n f e r e n c e e n g i n e and a knowledge-base e d i t o r , so t h a t c o n s u l t a t i o n systems in any f i e l d can be e a s i l y d e f i n e d and t e s t e d .