ESICIAB: an expert system for identification of clinically important aerobic bacteria

Precise identification of microorganisms from a patient with an infection is critical in the diagnosis and management of the disease. The growing knowledge in the field of medicine, and introduction of new laboratory methods makes the differential identification of the bacteria hard work even for the specialists. Although there are some automated microbial identification systems, computer-assisted decision making systems are needed for those laboratories that work with conventional methods. ESICIAB is a knowledge based system that interprets the results of the conventional tests to make identification of the bacteria. The system was programmed in PROLOG to run on IBM PC compatibles, and covers most aerobically growing bacteria of clinical importance