Towards computer-assisted maintenance of medical knowledge bases

Abstract

The problem of knowledge acquisition is especially severe for medical knowledge bases. At least two strategies can help alleviate the problem: creating computer-based tools which assist experts in entering knowledge into the knowledge base, and promoting situations where several organizations contribute simultaneously and independently to a single knowledge base. This article describes a set of tools currently under development at the Section of Medical Informatics of the University of Pittsburgh which incorporate both strategies. The tools, which operate within the framework of the Quick Medical Reference (QMR) knowledge base, perform tasks ranging from checking syntax and semantics to suggesting initial skeletons for new knowledge base entries. Extensive use of interactive direct-manipulation techniques and built-in knowledge of many details of the knowledge base makes these tools very effective in supporting the creation and maintenance of new knowledge base entries.