A knowledge-based system for tutoring bronchial asthma diagnosis

A knowledge-based system for tutoring student physicians to diagnose bronchial asthma is presented. The system uses a case-based instruction methodology where the student learns how to diagnose bronchial asthma through practice on carefully selected cases. The tutoring system presents the case to the student as the student requests information, and is able to provide help if the student needs it. The dialogue is completely controlled by the student, who can use his/her own language in conversing with the system. Embedded in the tutoring system is an expert diagnostician for bronchial asthma, which is called upon to evaluate the student´s attempted diagnosis and is used to provide a summary of the reasoning behind the expert´s diagnosis. The system is fully implemented, has been tested with actual physicians, and is currently being field tested with physicians and residents in internal medicine. The system is robust and seems to be effective for the domain of bronchial asthma. Initial indications imply that the methodologies developed for this knowledge-based tutoring system will apply beyond the bronchial asthma domains as well