AN EXPERT SYSTEM ON MALARIA DIAGNOSIS

ABSTRACT

This project work is designed and centered on the diagnosis of ailment in University of Benin Teaching Hospital.  With the help of this expert system the short coming in carrying out diagnosis in the hospital manually will be curtained. The system was embarked upon based on the system analysis that was carried out on the manual system of diagnosis in the hospital.  This project work is subdivided into five chapters, of which chapter three which was the system design and implementation dwelt deeply on the design of the new system. The system was designed using Microsoft visual basic 6.0

CHAPTER ONE

1.0            INTRODUCTION

A computer is digital electronic machine capable of accepting input data, processing and producing an output (information). The computer is an important tool that plays a good role in the analysis of any subject that is to be programmed. Though before a computer can be successfully programmed and utilized, it most be studied. Hence, “computer Science” which is the study of computer and its programming is mainly about the design and analysis, modeling and application of computer related system

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Computer Science has enabled the development of expert system which in turn improved human performance in their related field in life.

The development of experts system that capture skills and expertise of a human expert has not been easy and date back to the Second World War, where experts of computer tried relentlessly to develop technique or systems that would allow act more intelligently than human. But recently, experts system  have proven their value by aiding for example, medical professionals in diagnosing diseases and scheduling task as well mechanics in trouble shooting locomotive problems and configuring complex computer hardware.

Hence, this project harnesses the abilities of experts on system to develop an expert system on malaria diagnostic system that will aid medical professional or personnel (e.g. Doctors, paramedics) in the diagnosis of malaria and its associated symptoms.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In the past, diagnosis has been plague by several factors based on the current manual process:

       i.            File and record about patients are not properly kept.

     ii.            Drugs prescription is hardly ever done with the right age of the patient in mind.

  iii.            Error are easily made and hardly detected.

  iv.            Information is not well maintained.

1.3     OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This work-study will as much as possible try to achieve the objectives stated below.

       i.            To help in the fight against of malaria mostly in Africa and in the world at large.

     ii.            To appraise the contributions of an expert system in medicine.

  iii.            To inform the medical practitioner that they can enjoy prolific alliance with computer systems.

  iv.            A Flexible and relatively easily maintained systems.

     v.            An improvement to quality by providing a consistent source of reliable expert guidance.

  vi.            It reduces the amount of wastage in terms of time and human resource

vii.            The containment of medical diagnosis by substituting software systems for skilled people, to help in assistance.

1.4     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

       i.            The significance of expert systems in the diagnosis of malaria are too numerous to mention but a few has been listed out below;

     ii.            It takes a long time to train medical experts to know the symptoms of malaria and be able to give out the right drugs but with the proposed new system, only what is needed is the skills of operating the new system which requires entering patients information and their symptoms into the system and in turn the system brings out the type of malaria and the drugs to combat it.

  iii.            Consistent solution: Computers do not suffer some of the weaknesses of humans, such as getting tired or ill and they are more easily access than human experts.

  iv.            More time to evaluate decision result: Advice is obtained from the experts system quickly, leaving more time to weigh the possible result before action is taken.

     v.            Human expert development is a continuous exercise but an expert system is built only once and updated continuously with new technologies.

1.5     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 Expert system on malaria diagnostic is a software designed to assist doctors and medical professional in diagnosis and prescription of different ailment as a result of malaria.

This system will simulate expert reasoning, taking into consideration the clinical sign and test result. It generates accurate treatment, advice addressing and prescriptions to possible drugs.

An example of a disease is given below.

1.6     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Diagnostic: This is concerned with diagnosis; used for furthering diagnosis or can be defined as characteristic or indicative of a disease.

A.I: Known as artificial intelligence in full and can be defined as the branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.

Paramedics: A person trained to assist medical professionals and to give emergency medical treatment

Malaria: An infective disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito; marked by paroxysms of chills and fever

Hospital: A medical institution where sick or injured people are given medical or surgical care.

Medication: The act of treating with medicines or remedies

Physician: A licensed medical practitioner

Ailment: An often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining

Software: These written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory