Goal-Directed Diagnosis - A Diagnostic Reasoning Framework for Exploratory-Corrective Domains

In many diagnosis-and-repair domains, diagnostic reasoning cannot be abstracted from repair actions, nor from actions necessary to obtain information of diagnostic value. TraumAID 2.0, a consultation system for multiple trauma management, implements a reasoning architecture for exploratory-corrective domains which integrates diagnostic reasoning with planning and action. Taking the view that a diagnosis is only worthwhile to the extent that it can aaect repair decisions , its Goal-Directed Diagnosis (GDD) framework views the diagnosis-object as secondary to the formation of appropriate goals for a complementary planner. We start this article with a speciic case of multiple trauma injury. Demonstrating some of the key features of exploratory-corrective domains, we use this case to exemplify the suitability of our approach. Before focusing on the GDD reasoner itself, we overview TraumAID 2.0's Exploratory-Corrective Management architecture in which it is embedded with a companion planner, and explain its iterative interaction with the physician. The paper's main body presents GDD's formalism, and knowledge representation scheme, and proposes a design methodology for GDD-based systems (The companion planner, and the implemented system are described elsewhere). Before concluding, we present a set of strategies characteristic of exploratory-corrective domains, and argue the suitability of our framework for their implementation.