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Medical AI systems as appropriate technology for developing countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Kathleen King  and
Howard Beck
Kathleen King
Affiliation:
Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh, UK
Howard Beck
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Appications Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK
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Abstract

Expert systems technology has been around for a long time, becoming increasingly easy to use, inexpensive and reliable in recent years. It would seem to provide an ideal vehicle for the dissemination of expertise in developing countries, particularly in the field of medicine, which was the focus of much early work in diagnostic systems. Despite the apparent match of a real problem and a credible solution, however, remarkably few AI systems for medicine in developing countries have been researched, designed and implemented. This paper addresses why this might be the case, reviews some of the extant systems and explores some of the design issues. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of “Appropriate Technology”. Various criteria for Appropriate Technology are explored, and an optimal set used to guide principles of design. It is argued that medical AI systems can satisfy these criteria, provided that sufficient care is taken in their design for the country of application.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Knowledge Engineering Review , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , December 1990 , pp. 251 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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