Topic: Expert Systems: do you folks use them?

[Brandon Bertolli]

Like the subject says, do you folks use expert systems for decision support at all? For my MSc project I am making an expert system to assist with the location of projectiles that might be missing or so far undetected in the patient or his clothes. Applies to live gunshot patients only, in a hospital environment.

I am wondering if you use something similar to find projectiles at the scene, or maybe for some other purpose.

[Brandon Bertolli]

No replies yet, so I'll venture a bit further....

For my Masters project, I am making an expert system to assist with the detection of projectiles in live gunshot patients, and where relevant provide basic advice about the potential hazards of these projectiles or their fragments.
One of the things I allow for is the situation where there is no projectile in situ and nothing has been found in the clothes (or the clothes are not available for inspection). I put a few routes in the system advising that in those cases if the projectile is a required item, the investigation will be focussed at the scene of the shooting, or some other place compatible with a trajectory that involved the scene of the shooting.

I would appreciate it if you folks could have a look at this expert system (it is just a concept: I have no commercial interest in this system and neither does the company who has provided me with the student license to use their application). All I want to know is whether you think there are potential benefits for using a system like this to assist with locating projectiles or simply advising of options.

Note that my objective is not to have a successful system, it is okay if it is a turkey as long as I can argue the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of system academically. Don't be shy to leave rude comments 

I finish this Masters (Health Informatics) on September the 24th, and the system stays up for marking until the end of October only, Thereafter it gets taken down.

http://www2.logicnets.com/TrialCo/logicnets.lns?verb=start&code=4898F57C79C95F173

Many thanks in advance

(you can leave anonymous comments on the pages with the feedback button, all I ask is you tag your comment with AFTE so I know where it came from)
Or you can leave comments here or in PM.

[Alison Quereau]

Hi Brandon,

There are a couple of reasons I can think of that you have received no replies to your post.  I can say that personally I had no idea what you meant by the term "expert system".  After clicking through your link, I see that it is an automated flow-chart-like decision helper.

I doubt if there are any AFTE members on this forum whose job it is to locate projectiles in live people (at least in the USA).  This would generally be done by medical/hospital personnel.  You did mention that a similar system could be employed for locating projectiles at a crime scene.  Many of us do not participate in the processing of a scene, but I suspect for those that do any flow-chart-type decision process is not computerized, but a part of written SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) or even a just a mental checklist based on training and experience.

Best of luck on your project!

[Brandon Bertolli]

Many thanks Alison!
(And also replies I got in PM)

[afss]

The best "expert system" to process a crime scene, is a CSI expert!
In order to find "missing" bullets, fired in a crime scene, you need first to find the cartridges, identify the weapon from which they were fired, find the area from which the shooting took place and than try to "guess" the trajectory of each bullet.
I can't think of any computerized system capable of doing that procedure.