TOWARD CASE-BASED REASONING FOR DIABETES MANAGEMENT: A PRELIMINARY CLINICAL STUDY AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM PROTOTYPE

摘要

This paper presents a case-based decision support system prototype to assist patients with Type 1 diabetes on insulin pump therapy. These patients must vigilantly maintain blood glucose levels within prescribed target ranges to prevent serious disease complications, including blindness, neuropathy, and heart failure. Case-based reasoning (CBR) was selected for this domain because (a) existing guidelines for managing diabetes are general and must be tailored to individual patient needs; (b) physical and lifestyle factors combine to influence blood glucose levels; and (c) CBR has been successfully applied to the management of other long-term medical conditions. An institutional review board (IRB) approved preliminary clinical study, involving 20 patients, was conducted to assess the feasibility of providing case-based decision support for these patients. Fifty cases were compiled in a case library, situation assessment routines were encoded to detect common problems in blood glucose control, and retrieval metrics were developed to find the most relevant past cases for solving current problems. Preliminary results encourage continued research and work toward development of a practical tool for patients.