MSR: A system for selecting the best strategy to reduce surgical risk

The present works describes the results of a research started in March 89 at IV Semeiotica Chirurgica of University ´La Sapienza´ of Rome regarding the minimisation of the surgical risk. Many previous experiences showed (1) (5) the real importance of a user-controlled tool assisting physicians in choosing the best clinical protocol to be used in the treatment of a patient and adaptable to the rapid evolution of scientific knowledge and to the activity of different Schools in emphasising different aspects of the clinical protocols, beside a computerised support can be precious in the decision making, mainly when a big set of data must be evaluated. The main characteristics of our system are: the refusal of an only probabilistic approach to guide clinical behaviour aimed to the reduction of surgical risk and the design and implementation of an environment in which the expert´s knowledge could be introduced in a quite free way, obtaining automated formalization of the knowledge base.