ESICIAB, an expert system for identification of clinically important aerobic bacteria

Abstract

ESIelAB is an expert system created to be used in the clinicalmicrobiology laboratory ~or the identiFication o~ clinicallyimportant aerobically growing bacteria. It is designed as an inexpensivealternative to fully computerized automated systemswhich are replacing conventional methods for the identificationof bacteria in the modern microbiology laboratory. Such systemsare faster than the classical methods but they are also quite expensivefor most of the microbiology laboratories in our country.PROLOG has been used as the programming tool in developingthe system because it is much more powerful and efficient thanmost other well-known programming languages. The user enters theresults of conventional tests into the computer and the systemsearches its database to make a final conclusion. This databasecan easily be modified and expanded. Presently. it includesabout 170 aerobically growing bacteria and covers almost all ofthe clinically important cases. While choosing the bacteria andthe tests used for the identification of these bacteria. Baileyand Scott's Diagnostic Microbiology textbook has been used as areference. The system is designed to be user friendly, and menudriven, so that it would be easy to use for the microbiologistswho do not have any prior computer experience.We believe that this system will help reduce the burden of amicrobiologist working without an expensive automated system.