Designing medical expert system for assessment and management of low back pain with uncertainty handling

Abstract

Medical diagnosis is an art of employing physician s knowledge and intuition in determining the diseases of a patient. Exponential growth of medical knowledge and its incredible advancements over years are making the diagnosis process more complicated, thereby deteriorating the quality of medical care. Also, from the speed and reliability point of view, human beings have their limitations, because of excessive patient load, human errors, fatigue, and not having up-to-date knowledge about recent advancements in medical and associated fields. Diagnosing becomes very much difficult when diseases in their early stages look similar in terms of symptoms and signs. This proposal of research focuses on the disease of LBP, which is one of the most prevalent problems in all tiers of the population worldwide, with an estimated prevalence of 70% to 85% [1]. newlineLBP is defined as pain/ tension in muscle, or stiffness localized below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteal folds, with or without leg pain [2]. It is the leading cause of disability, activity limitation and work absence throughout much of the world with enormous economic burden on individuals, families, communities, industries and government [3]. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 37% cases of LBP have the ergonomic origins [4]. Studies show a 33.2% prevalence of chronic LBP among farmers in the US [5], a 16.5% prevalence among the male workers in the Swedish construction industry [6], a 55% prevalence in the population of jute mill workers in India [7], a 98% prevalence among the prawn seed collectors in West Bengal, India [8], and so on. LBP is also hastily affecting the affluent civilization across the world. newline