Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 5. A bio-information knowledge management framework
In Figure 5, the NLP stands for the natural language processor. NLP is used to translate a
problem written in natural language such as English or Chinese into a well formed problem
statement that is understood by reasoning engine which is enclosed inside the dotted region
in Figure 5. The reasoning engine consists of Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language
(KQML), the Evidence based reasoning software, and the Action planner. KQML is used to
manage data stored in the knowledge database. Its role in an expert system is much like the
role that the SQL language played in a database management system. Action planner is the
component that drives the system. One thing to point out is that the reasoning engine works
with the help of the knowledge database.
7.2 The evidence based reasoning software
As you can see from Figure 5, the complete system of a bio-information knowledge
management system has both software and hardware. In this presentation, we will focus on
the software side. In particular, we will focus on one software component: the evidence
based reasoning software (expert Software). We will assume that other components are
already implemented and working.
7.3 The potential areas of using the evidence based reasoning system
One of the application areas of our evidence reasoning system is the terminal patient
consulting bio-information system. When a patient is diagnosed with terminal illness, his
first reaction is disbelieving. Then, he probably will ask questions like: what is the prognosis
such as how long he can live; what is its etiology such as the cause of the disease; and
whether it is hereditary. These questions are usually being answered by doctors or nurses.
Often, answers that a patient got are generic based on average cases. Also, because of tight
