title: Development and use of a rule-based pathology expert consultation system.
abstract: Since histologic sections of pathologically changed tissues (e.g., tumors and inflammations) are highly complex structures, their subjective diagnostic or prognostic interpretation may result in a lack of interobserver and intraobserver agreement. Rule-based expert systems have the advantages that they require precise representation of the problem and can be used quickly and efficiently, even if the user is not acquainted with the special field concerned. Because of these and other advantages, a rule-based "Pathology Expert Consultation System" (PECS) is under development for the assessment of different premalignancies, malignancies and noncancerous conditions. In addition to supporting diagnosis making, the expert system can infer stage, type and grade, can check for inconsistencies in the answers and can predict the prognosis of an individual patient. PECS permits total integration of information contained in database, worksheet and text files with the rules and other control structures inherent in the rule base. The consultation can be interrupted to display a graph; when the user dismisses the graph, the consultation will resume where it left off or will move to another part of the system (if desired). If the user asks why a question is raised, the system will answer with a textual, graphic or combined explanation. The construction and use of the PECS expert system is discussed. Its initial applications to tumors of the lung, breast and endometrium have shown it to have both educational and clinical significance.
mesh_terms: D003199:Computer Systems; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010336:Pathology; D012017:Referral and Consultation