Clinical pathology data provides a basis for medical decision-making. Uncertainty is introduced into medical-decision-making by irreducible Biologic variability in patient data, ambiguities in communication of data, and the cognition of the decision-making process. Controlled medical terminologies (CMT) and medical decision support systems (DSS) reduce the uncertainty contributed by the latter two sources. Medical DSS are typically comprised of: an interface for data input and output, a knowledge base (KB) for storage of facts, and an inference engine for deriving new information. CMT employ knowledge representation formats similar to those used in DSS KBs. This study will evaluate the semantic network used by the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) for use as a KB in a Bayesian DSS to classify rodent liver disorders using clinical chemistry data. The primary aims of this proposal are to 1) assess SNOMED's ability to represent liver disorder concepts, 2) develop a formal methodology for adapting the semantic network of SNOMED for use in a Bayesian network and 3) evaluate the functionality of the resulting DSS using retrospective clinical chemistry data from drug toxicity studies. If SNOMED can functional as a KB to meet these aims, other domain-specific medical DSS can be created using the methodologies developed in this study.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Type
Medical Informatics Fellowships (F37)
Project #
5F37LM007699-02
Application #
6654454
Study Section
Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee (BLR)
Program Officer
Florance, Valerie
Project Start
2002-09-03
Project End
2004-07-31
Budget Start
2003-09-03
Budget End
2004-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$61,234
Indirect Cost
Name
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Department
Veterinary Sciences
Type
Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS #
003137015
City
Blacksburg
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
24061
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Zimmerman, Kurt L; Wilcke, Jeff R; Robertson, John L et al. (2005) SNOMED representation of explanatory knowledge in veterinary clinical pathology. Vet Clin Pathol 34:7-16