DEMONSTRATION

Fetal Echo Expert System

Krzysztof P. Wroblewski, Ph.D., Zhi Youn Tian, M.D., Piotr M Wroblewski, B.Sc.

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

ABSTRACT:

Abdominal ultrasonography is presently the most popular technique for evaluation of the human fetus. It virtually eliminates a need for fetal exposure to ionizing radiation. Even though the analysis of only four chamber view of a heart may lead to detection of more than 50% of all abnormalities it is a common opinion between doctors that routine ultrasound evaluation of fetal hearts during the pregnancy (Fetal Echocardiography) does not decrease mortality caused by congenital heart diseases. Unfortunately this is partially true. The main reason for such situation is a paradox: the detection of congenital heart diseases depends on non-cardiologists, and it is the responsibility of obstetricians and primary-care physicians to detect these abnormalities.

In this multidisciplinary project we developed tools supporting effective detection of congenital heart diseases by non-cardiologists. For that purpose multimedia program Fetal Echo Expert system has been created. It is designed to guide a physician through the data obtained from ultrasound examination. The program includes a step-by-step tutorial, a library of congenital heart diseases, and an expert system that can support the process of detection of congenital heart abnormalities. The design of rule-based expert system involves the process of interaction between a domain expert and a knowledge engineer who formalizes the expert's knowledge as inference rules and encodes it in the computer. Despite of the difficulties in creating of such system it has several advantages:

1. The expertise is permanent.

2. The knowledge of multiple experts can be made to work simultaneously.

3. The expert system can explain in detail the reasoning which lead to the conclusion

In order to deal with uncertainties the Fetal Echo Expert System uses the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence implemented as support logical programming by Baldwin and since then successfully used in development of expert systems.

For over two years a beta version of the Fetal Echo Expert systems was available for free download from the Fetal Echocardiography Homepage (one of the oldest, and still existing medical homepages in the world) http://www.med.upenn.edu/fetus

The criticism, comments, and suggestions obtained from more than 200 medical offices all over the world are being now used to develop a version that will be used in further epidemiological studies.

BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:

Participants will be able to explore state of the art of information planning in developing of a comprehensive diagnostic. They will learn how a multidisciplinary team works together in order to create a dynamic diagnostic environment. Participants will learn how an expert system works, and how can be used in clinical practice.

Krzysztof P. Wroblewski

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Department of Radiology

Rm. 96 John Morgan Blgd.

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6055

Phone: 215-898-6396

Fax: 215-898-5642

Email: mailto:krzyszto@mail.med.upenn.edu

Website: http://www.med.upenn.edu/fetus

CO-AUTHORS:

Zhi Yun Tian

mailto:tian@email.chop.edu

Piotr M. Wroblewski