An expert system for choosing electromedical equipment and running a medical equipment inventory

In 1972 the Department of Clinical Physics and Bio-Engineering was asked to set up an advisory service on electromedical and related equipment for the six West of Scotland Health Boards. An extensive database was developed on paper to provide the information on which this advice was based but it became obvious that data management would be impossible without computer assistance. Software was developed in-house to handle equipment classification and thus artificial intelligence techniques were incorporated from the beginning. When the Greater Glasgow Health Board decided to maintain a major asset register of medical equipment this system was extended to include an inventory. User demand for information from both parts has grown very rapidly and the system has developed to meet this need. A major revision is nearing completion and it is the development criteria for this system, based on ten years of experience in actually using artificial intelligence on a routine basis, which are discussed