EXPERT SYSTEMS KNOWLEDGE BASES FOR SOLVING VETERINARY PROBLEMS

Abstract

Undoubtedly, the factor leading to the death of cattle is the spread of diseases that can worsenthe health of animals. Diagnosing animal diseases is difficult if a qualified veterinary professional is notavailable, which is usually due to the remoteness of livestock farms from scientific veterinary centres. Thus,the use of expert systems for solving veterinary medicine problems is proposed as a solution. An expertsystem for diagnosing animal diseases is required to simplify the work of veterinarians and subsequentlyreduce the incidence of animal diseases.The consequence is that the need to implement decision support toolsis undeniable, as veterinary medicine is a science that involves possible diagnostic errors, decision-makingcomplexity and an extensive knowledge base. As a result, the use of cognitive maps, the functionality ofwhich is described in this article, is proposed. The development of these decision support tools includesboth discrete analytical information and intuitive elements that optimise their impact on everyday veterinarypractice. Cognitive maps are active knowledge resources that use animal data to generate case-specificrecommendations to support diagnostic decision-making. The knowledge sources used and the process ofobtaining, analyzing and evaluating knowledge are described in detail. Productive rules are used as a toolto represent knowledge, which is also used to address the uncertainties that arise in the decision-makingprocess. Introducing one-dimensional tables when structuring a knowledge library is an appropriate solutionfor system design. Creating a knowledge base in the way described can solve the initial goals of developinga software product for veterinary applications.