1.1 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. Before a computer can be successfully programmed and utilized, it must be studied properly. Expert system play an indomitable role in various disciplines and the assistance it renders to man cannot be overemphasized. 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.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
An expert system is a software system that attempts to reproduce the performance of one or more human experts, most commonly in a specific problem domain, and is a traditional application and/or subfield of artificial intelligence. A wide variety of methods can be used to simulate the performance of the expert however common to most or all are the creation of a so-called “knowledgebase” which uses some knowledge representation formalism to capture the subject matter experts (SME) knowledge and a process of gathering that knowledge from the SME and codifying it according to the formalism, which is called knowledge engineering. Expert systems may or may not have learning components but a third common element is that once the system is developed it is proven by being placed in the same real world problem solving situation as the human SME, typically as an aid to human workers or a supplement to some information system.
As a premiere application of computing and artificial intelligence, the topic of expert systems has many points of contact with general systems theory, operations research, business process reengineering and various topics in applied mathematics and management science.
Two illustrations of actual expert systems can give an idea of how they work. In one real world case at a chemical refinery a senior employee was about to retire and the company was concerned that the loss of his expertise in managing a fractionating tower would severely impact operations of the plant. A knowledge engineer was assigned to produce an expert system reproducing his expertise saving the company the loss of the valued knowledge asset. Similarly a system called Mycin was developed from the expertise of best diagnosticians of bacterial infections whose performance was found to be as good as or better than the average clinician. An early commercial success and illustration of another typical application (a task generally considered overly complex for a human) was an expert system fielded by DEC in the 1980s to quality check the configurations of their computers prior to delivery. The eighties were the time of greatest popularity of expert systems and interest lagged after the onset of the AI Winter. In like manner, developing one of such system to represent the repository of the knowledge of a medical doctor is as essential as any other expert system. To this end, this project, Expert System on the Diagnosis of non communicable diseases is a necessity.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Investigation by this study reveals the following challenges:
- File and record about patients are not properly kept.
- Drugs prescription is hardly ever done with the right age of the patient in mind.
- Error are easily made and hardly detected.
- Information is not well maintained.
Health care facility should be accessible by all at all times. But some of the people that should access these facilities are far removed from these facilities. More so, in the few available facilities, qualified medical personnel are always key issues that need urgent redress.
In view of the foregoing, it would be of great necessity to provide a computerized system that will provide a complementary medical service, such as medical disease diagnosis in places where accessibility is a problem as well as health care facilities where qualified experts are lacking, hence this topic, Expert System on Malaria fever Diagnosis.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to Design and Implement an Expert System on Malaria Diagnosis. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to design and develop an application software that will:
- Ascertain whether the diseases could be diagnosed based on signs and symptoms;
- Examine a patient based on simple clinical signs, and to improve family and community health;
- Appraise the contributions of an expert system in medicine;
- Create flexible and relatively easily maintained systems; and
- Inform the medical practitioner that they can enjoy prolific alliance with computer systems.
1.5 Significance of Study
The significance of expert systems in the diagnosis of malaria are too numerous to mention but a few has been listed out below;
- It will help to retain the skill of an expert medical doctor in case of any eventuality;
- It can support academic development;
- It can be useful in many hospitals, both private and government, cases where the expert is not on seat;
- Human expert development is a continuous exercise but an expert system is built only once and updated continuously with new technologies.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of this study focuses on the Design and Implementation of an Expert System on Malaria Diagnosis.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Malaria: An infectious disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Common in tropical countries, the disease is characterized by recurring chills and fever.
Diagnose: The identifying of an illness or disorder in a patient through physical examination, medical tests, or other procedures
Medical: Relating to medicine, physical examination to determine health: a physical examination by a doctor to check
Communicable: A communicable disease that can be passed from one person
Symptoms: Signs of an ill health
Knowledge-based: Information system that store wealth of one’s knowledge
Expert: Somebody with a great deal of knowledge, skill, training, or experience in a particular field or activity
