A MULTICOMPUTER BASED PATHOLOGY DIAGNOSES SUPPORT SYSTEM

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN A FULL-FUNCTION PATHOLOGY DIAGNOSES SUPPORT SYSTEM TO FACILITATE THE COLLECTION, STORAGE, AND ANALYSIS OF HISTOPATHOLOGY DATA. THE SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE THE PATHOLOGIST MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY IN SPECIFICATION OF: (1) GLOSSARY CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION; (2) METHOD OF IDENTIFICATION OF KEY DATA ENTITIES (CAGE, STUDY, ANIMAL, ETC.); AND (3) SEQUENCING OF MENU-SELECTABLE ITEMS. THIS FLEXIBILITY WILL ALLOW THE PATHOLOGIST TO TAILOR THE SYSTEM TO THE REQUIRE- MENTS OF THE SITE OR STUDY. THE SYSTEM WILL ALSO INCORPORATE EMERGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/EXPERT SYSTEM TECHNIQUES FOR DATA COLLECTION AND PRESENTATION, SUCH AS VOICE INPUT/OUTPUT AND AUTOMATIC MENU SEQUENCING BASED ON FREQUENCY OF USE. MAJOR TECHNICAL DESIGN CRITERIA BEYOND THE FLEXIBILITY AND VARIETY OF SPECIFICATIONS PROVIDED TO THE USER WILL FOCUS ON: (1) ALLOWING THE SYSTEM TO OPERATE ON MULTIPLE TYPES OF COMPUTERS AND TO OPERATE IN BOTH SINGLEAND MULTI-USER ENVIRONMENTS; (2) DESIGNING A MODULAR LAYEREDSYSTEM FOR MAXIMUM MACHINE PORTABILITY AND EXTENSIBILITY OF SYSTEM FUNCTIONS; (3) USING COMMERCIAL DATA STORAGE AND ANALYSIS TOOLS TO CAPITALIZE ON THEIR EXPANDING BASE OF CAPABILITIES; AND (4) PROVIDING MAXIMUM EASE OF INTEGRATION INTO EXISTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS THROUGH EXTENSIVE IMPORT AND EXPORT UTILITIES FOR ALL SYSTEM DATA.