SMR (simulating medical reasoning): an expert shell for non-AI experts

SMR is an expert system shell designed to put the tools for knowledge acquisition directly into the hands of the domain expert. Since the knowledge base is represented as free text within a simplified syntactic structure, it is intelligible to anyone familiar with medical terminology. The knowledge base includes the rules for inference making as well as data groupings and protocols to facilitate case recording. In this paper, SMR is presented from the expert's point of view, describing the rule syntax and procedures for formulating the required diagnostic or therapeutic knowledge in the chosen domain. Similarly, the end-user's application of the system to patient data and the provisions for exploring and explaining the system's conclusions and reasoning processes are detailed. Avoiding tedious and often inane dialog, the user enters all that is known about the patient and receives a report of the system's conclusions and recommendations followed by a list of observations to be made in patient follow-up. An expert system for evaluating the diabetic patient is used to illustrate system operations.