1.1 Introduction
Liver diseases contain hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections, alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and associated cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma are primary causes of death (Wang et al., 2014). Hepatitis is a viral infection caused by inflammation of the liver tissue. More than four million people have been exposed to Hepatitis C and most of them do not know this. Every year, 8-10.000 people die from complications of chronic liver disease related to Hepatitis C (Livercenter, 2017).
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
Liver disease impairs the liver and its function because of alcohol abuse (Nlm, 2017). And it is the most prevalent cause of advanced liver disease in Europe (Hepatol, 2012). Cirrhosis is late-stage liver disease which emerges when scar tissue substitute healthy tissue (Byass, 2014). Alcoholic liver disease is the most common reason of cirrhosis in the Western world and one of the most common reasons for death (WHO, 2021). According to Pahareeya (2014), the number of liver patients is increasing day by day due to excessive consumption of alcohol, inhale of harmful gases, intake of contaminated food and drugs.
In this study, the importance of attributes for this disease was investigated and the machine learning was realized in this context. In order to achieve more accuracy for liver disease, the Random Under-Sampling (RUS) method was performed for major classes.
In Federal Medical Centre Owerri, the process of diagnosing illnesses generally begins with the patient registering and opening of folder where the patient’s history will be recorded. After that the patient’s body such as mass index, undergoes general blood pressure and temperature test. Thereafter, the patient consults with the doctor for necessary prescription including recommending the type of test to ascertain.
This whole process have the following challenges; long queues of patients waiting to consult with the doctors not minding the critical health of the patient that need immediate attention. Also there is delay from the doctor as a result of fatigue which made them often time decide to rest or close for the day, which may require the patient meeting the doctors on time or on that day. There are situation where the doctor misplace a patient file due to large volume of patient files been handled there by causing delay of the patient to be diagnosed.
It is against the background that the research decides to embark on this project work with the aim of design a system that will eliminate some of the identified challenges. The new system will provide an online (Internet Based) service for diagnosis would be a contribution to hospital management system by Diagnosing Liver Diseases and Ailment. This project is aimed at reducing the drawbacks associated with diagnosing a patient.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
The problems encountered by the existing system include the following:
- People die as a result of wrong self-medication or delayed Liver Diseases and Ailment diagnosis.
- A lot of people that visit the laboratory for diagnosis, experience shortage of finance as a result of wrong diagnosis.
- Some patients complain of not meeting the doctors when they visit the laboratory, hence, their illness becomes critical.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The main aim of this study is to design and implement an online System for the Diagnosis of Liver Diseases and Ailment. In achieving this aim, the new system will accomplish the following objectives through the design of a system that will;
- Reduce the risks associated with self-medication, wrong and delayed Liver Diseases and Ailment diagnosis.
- Reduce the stress and inconveniences experienced by potential patients and not meeting with the doctor on the days of visit.
- Help return the skills of an expert medical doctor in event of eventualities.
1.5 Significance of Study
This system when completed and implemented will help allocate the stress of the doctors and other health personnel involved in analysis and prescription of cancer cases as some of the prescription will now be done by the new system when a patient fills in the correct information needed. It also reduces the risk of delayed diagnoses and self-medication which can degenerate the problem. With the growth in information technology, the study offers numerous benefits to the Federal Medical Centre and to any Medical Centre that deals on patient breast and prostate diagnosis.
Besides, the project report will help subsequent researchers who are interested in the topic or related topic as a reference material.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This research work will concentrate on the Design and Implementation of an Online Liver Ailment and Disease Diagnostic System using Federal Medical Center (FMC) Owerri as a case study. The proposed system developed will only cover patient with symptoms for diagnosis and control solutions like drug control and supplement there will be room for diagnosing patient with various kind of symptoms with remedial solution and advice.
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.
- Financial Constraint: There were inadequate finance as a student which affected my research on this study, the problem became more complex coupled with the financial involvement of every research as the available funds from parents were barely enough, which limited the researcher from fully implementing certain aspects of the system.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or did not release at all for security purposes, hence some features intended were not added.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Information System: It is a collection of procedures, people, Instructions and equipment to produce information in a useful form.
Technology: It is study of techniques or process of mobilizing Resource (such as information) for accomplishing objectives that benefits man and his environment.
