RADIATION ONCOLOGY DATA INFORMATION AND ADVISORY SYSTEM

THE GOAL IS A PRACTICAL SOFTWARE SYSTEM TO ASSIST RADIOTHERAPISTS IN INVESTIGATIONAL PROTOCOL AS WELL AS STANDARD TREATMENT MANAGEMENT BY FACILITATING INFORMATION ACCESS/RETRIEVAL, ORGANIZING DATA HANDLING/PROCESSING, AND PROVIDING EXPERT ADVICE. THE APPROACH IS A TWO-LEVEL EXPERTSYSTEM, ONE LEVEL AT THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE OR A COOPERATIVE GROUP HEADQUARTERS AND THE OTHER AT INDIVIDUAL RADIOTHERAPY DEPARTMENTS. THIS CONNECTED SOFTWARE NETWORK, OPERATED FROM USER-FRIENDLY WORKSTATIONS, INTERFACES AT BOTH LEVELS AND WOULD ALSO ACCESS AND MAINTAIN THE PHYSICIANS DATA QUERY AND OTHER DATABASES WITHIN THE MEDLARS SYSTEM. THE EXPERT SYSTEMS WOULD BE KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERED TO PROVIDE PROTOCOL-SPECIFIC COORDINATION AND ADVISORY ASSISTANCE. THE AIMS OF PHASE I ARE TO DEFINE THE OVERALL CONCEPT IN DETAIL IN A MANNER FULLY RESPONSIVE TO THE PERCEIVED NEEDS OF PRACTICING RADIOTHERAPISTS; TO INVESTIGATE ISSUES INVOLVED IN ACHIEVING A WORKABLE, ACCEPTABLE SYSTEM; AND TO DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A PROTOTYPE EXPERT SYSTEM THAT PERFORMS SELECTED PROTOCOL MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS. SUCCESSFULPHASE I COMPLETION WOULD ESTABLISH CONFIDENCE IN THE FEASIBILITY OF THE RADIATION ONCOLOGY DATA INFORMATION AND ADVISORY SYSTEM (RODIAS) AND ENABLE FORMULATIONS OF A DETAILED PHASE II DEVELOPMENT PLAN.