MSR: A system for selecting the best strategy to reduce surgical risk

The present works describes the results of a research started in March 89 at IV Semeiotica Chirurgica of University 'La Sapienza' of Rome regarding the minimisation of the surgical risk. Many previous experiences showed (1) (5) the real importance of a user-controlled tool assisting physicians in choosing the best clinical protocol to be used in the treatment of a patient and adaptable to the rapid evolution of scientific knowledge and to the activity of different Schools in emphasising different aspects of the clinical protocols, beside a computerised support can be precious in the decision making, mainly when a big set of data must be evaluated. The main characteristics of our system are: the refusal of an only probabilistic approach to guide clinical behaviour aimed to the reduction of surgical risk and the design and implementation of an environment in which the expert's knowledge could be introduced in a quite free way, obtaining automated formalization of the knowledge base.