We propose to apply artificial intelligence methods to the study of clinical decision making and the creation of knowledgable expert medical consulting programs. This application proposes three related investigations: 1. To study the cognitive processes of physicians engaged in clinical decision making by collecting and analyzing transcripts of their volunteered and elicited responses while solving clinical problems; to describe the knowledge representations and problem-solving methods used by physicians in cases involving considerable uncertainty and considerable risk; to study the variation in skills and style of experts by degree of expertise and area of sub-specialization. 2. To develop new methods that allow expert programs to explain and justify their conclusions by arguing from fundamental medical facts and principles and reconstructing the path by which those bases have led to the program's behavior; to improve the application of automatic programming methods to allow the performance program to be generated automatically from these facts and principles. 3. To continue development of a decision analysis and sensitivity analysis system for clinical and policy analysis use on microcomputers; to distribute that system to a limited cohort of clinicians and investigators, and to study its use.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
Type
Resource-Related Research Projects (R24)
Project #
5R24RR001320-03
Application #
3450519
Study Section
(SSS)
Project Start
1983-09-01
Project End
1987-08-31
Budget Start
1985-09-01
Budget End
1987-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1985
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
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Kassirer, J P; Kopelman, R I (1986) A picture is worth a thousand words. Hosp Pract (Off Ed) 21:54-60

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