Funages: an Expert System for Fundus Fluorescein Angiography Funages: an Expert System for Fundus Fluorescein Angiography

both the computational and the medical side of these concerns began to develop mutual interests and approaches, and to form coherent col-laborative research [1]. One of the first uses of artificial intelligence (AI) on a practical level was the coupling of expert medical knowledge with computer-based technology. As early as the 1960s, computer scientists and physicians recognized the possibility that computers, with their speed and ability to perform complex arithmetical operations , could assist doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of disease [2]. Several prototype computer programs tackle difficult clinical problems in a manner similar to that of an expert physician. The most prominent of these are: INTERNIST [3], a diagnostic aid that combines a large database of disease/manifestation associations with techniques for problem formulation; EXPERT [4] and CASNET/Glaucoma [5] which use physiological models for the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease; MYCIN [6], a rule-based program for diagnosis and therapy selection for infectious diseases; the Digitalis Therapy Advisor [7], which aids the physician in prescribing the right dose of the drug digitalis and also explains its actions; and ABEL [8], a program that uses multi-level pathophysiological models for the diagnosis of acid-base and elec-trolyte disorders. A very popular expert system for ophthal-mology is VIBES (Visual Impairments and Blindness Expert System) [9]. VIBES is made up of various categories and was developed to help answer questions and give advice; each category contains a discussion of many tasks and cross-references to alternative techniques, which can be used by people who are visually impaired or blind. It also cross-references to other products such as audio equipment, CCTVs, electronic media, integrated software, newsletters, paper media, printers or services such as conferences and readers, which are available to help accomplish each task. This paper introduces FUNAGES [10], an expert system that deals with the interpretation of fundus fluorescein angiography. Fluorescein angiography is a sophisticated, widely used diagnostic test, which allows the clinician and researcher to understand underlying histopatho-logic changes of fundus diseases in vivo [11] [12]. Quite a few pattern recognition systems try to identify regions of interest in such angiographies [13] [14] [15] [16]. To the best of our knowledge, however, there is no expert system in the literature for aiding the interpretation of fundus fluorescein angiograms. The profound impact of fluorescein angiog-raphy in ophthalmology necessitates a simple and logical means of interpreting angiograms. FUNAGES is an expert system that deals with the …