PRE-COMPILING MEDICAL LOGIC MODULES INTO C-SUPPORT SYSTEMS(+ IN BUILDING MEDICAL DECISION)

Development of medical knowledge bases is a time-consuming process, an d no single medical institution can develop medical knowledge bases co vering all areas of medicine. The use of medical knowledge representat ion standards such as the Arden Syntax is an attempt to enhance the wr itability and readability of computer-stored knowledge and facilitate transfer and sharing among institutions. A method for the realisation of decision support systems based on knowledge formulated according to the Arden Syntax is presented. An essential tool in this process is a medical logic module (MLM) pre-compiler, translating MLMs into an obj ect-oriented programming language, C++. Advantages of the C++ approach compared with other alternatives are discussed.