COMPUTER SOFTWARE SYSTEM ON POISONING DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSTICS

The proposed KAIF System has been developed to facilitate the work of physicians, clinical toxicologists and all those involved in the treatment and management of poisoning. On the other hand, the Program may also constitute a source of medical reference, as well as the basis for training, i.e. "to act as tutor" to high school and college students embarking on medical careers.

KAIF is a professional computer system which consists of the DEFIT program and the NEUROTOPIC program, interrelated and rolled into one.

DEFIT is designed to identify for the first time in a scientific and rigorous way chemical substances commonly implicated in cases of acute poisoning with the nervous system involvement.

The System's earlier version named FOND which is designed by the same authors has provided the basis for the given Program. (Source: The Russian government certificates # 920042 of 10 March 1992 and # 003 of 26 February 1999).

The DEFIT Program includes the following features of advanced type:

• something which is completely new here is the authors' mathematical algorithm capable to recognize chemical substances by clinical symptoms and signs pertaining to an actual poisoning;
• database, as an integral part of the Program, contains basic information about cases of neurotopic poisoning.

The User is given the opportunity to:

• search for a substance responsible for acute poisoning, which is done by marking medical features of a disease, presented in the available list;
• obtain special information about poisoning caused by the substances presented in the database.

With the help of the NEUROTOPIC Program the User can define the nervous system areas of greatest involvement.

The NEUROTOPIC Program's structure has been organized in conformity with basic expert system concepts.

Of particular interest here are the nervous system atlases of anatomical and clinicoanatomical types which are integrated with the Program. The atlases have been prepared by the same authors and compiled by direct copying appropriate images from authoritative editions of medical atlasography. They contain graphic images and descriptions of poisoning symptoms and anatomical zones of the nervous system involvement.

The Thesaurus lets the User:

• define, through symptom-by-symptom marking, the greatest exposed area of the nervous system;
• obtain extended information about exposed areas of the nervous system;
• view both the text and graphics of poisoning-associated symptoms and signs.

It is also possible to use Neurotopic and Defit Programs both jointly within the Kaif System and each by itself.

The Defit Program is of immense practical use to clinicians at poisons centers and toxicological units and, in addition, to all those engaged in medicolegal expertise and criminological investigations.

The Kaif System is easy to learn; the user does not need any computer experience to get started.