[Development and clinical application of an expert system for supporting diagnosis of 201Tl stress myocardial SPECT]

A consultation expert system which supports our computer aided reporting system was developed. The system was used for the evaluation of the two dimensional polar (bull's eye) display of 201Tl myocardial SPECT. The system consists of patients management (PM) and consultation expert systems (ES). The former is connected to image processors coupled with scinticameras. The bull's eye display of myocardial SPECT is transferred from image processor to the data base of PM. When inference request is made, the feature extraction program extracts information on localization, extent and severity of focal defects comparing count-rates pixel by pixel with the reference obtained from seven normal controls. The inference engine is activated to determine presence of focal defects utilizing diagnostic rules in the knowledge base. The results are sent back to PM and reported with the probability of assurance. Fifty eight patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI), angina pectoris (AP) and other diseases as well as normal controls were included in the study. The decision for presence or absence of focal defects by ES agreed with that by nuclear physicians (NP) in 301 segments among 330 (91%) in stress images. The presence of redistribution in delayed images agreed in 43 segments among 67 (64%). Image interpretation by ES agreed well with that of NP in patients with OMI (19/20) and AP (9/11). Seven were interpreted as normal by both ES and NP. The system is useful, as it provides NP with complementary and supportive information applicable to decision making and reporting. Further clinical experiences can improve knowledge base for better ES function.