AIDA: web agents in dental treatment planning.

The objective of the AIDA project (Artificial Intelligent Dental Agents, http://aida.uni-hd.de) is the analysis of dental decision-making, the design of a computer-based decision support system, as well as the testing of the decision structure in interactions with dental experts, practicing dentists, and patients. The planning of the solution alternatives for an individual patient is based on a top-down structure for dental decision-making, aiming at a standardization of the argumentation. From a theoretical point of view, decision support can be provided only for anticipated decisions (planning). Moreover, only parts of these anticipated decisions can be supported. Accordingly, a separation of these partial aspects has to take place before one is able to build decision support systems. For prosthetic dentistry, clinicians have been shown how to use individual patient findings to sketch the possible treatment alternatives and later derive guidelines for the treatment. The planning module for fixed prostheses has already been integrated into a software agent. Planning modules for other types of prostheses are currently specified, implemented, and verified.