The iOSC3 system: Using ontologies and SWRL rules for intelligent supervision and care of patients with acute cardiac disorders

Abstract

Physicians in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are specially trained to deal constantly with very large and complex quantities of clinical data and make quick decisions as they face complications. However, the amount of information generated and the way the data are presented may overload the cognitive skills of even experienced professionals and lead to inaccurate or erroneous actions that put patients' lives at risk. In this paper, we present the design, development, and validation of iOSC3, an ontology-based system for intelligent supervision and treatment of critical patients with acute cardiac disorders. The system analyzes the patient's condition and provides a recommendation about the treatment that should be administered to achieve the fastest possible recovery. If the recommendation is accepted by the doctor, the system automatically modifies the quantity of drugs that are being delivered to the patient. The knowledge base is constituted by an OWL ontology and a set of SWRL rules that represent the expert's knowledge. iOSC3 has been developed in collaboration with experts from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) of the Meixoeiro Hospital, one of the most significant hospitals in the northwest region of Spain. © 2013 Marcos Martínez-Romero et al.