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This text is a description of a computer-based system designed to assist physicians with clinical decision-making. This system, termed MYCIN, utilizes computer techniques derived principally from the subfield of computer science known as artificial intelligence (AI). MYCIN's task is to assist with the decisions involved in the selection of appropriate therapy for patients with infections.

MYCIN contains considerable medical expertise and is also a novel application of computing technology. Thus, this text is addressed both to members of the medical community, who may have limited computer science backgrounds, and to computer scientists with limited knowledge of medical computing and clinical medicine. Some sections of the text may be of greater interest to one community than to the other. A guide to the text follows so that you may select those portions most pertinent to your particular interests and background.

The complete book in a single file.

In L. Steels (Ed.), Advances in natural language processing. Antwerp, Belgium: University of Antwerp.

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A YOUNG MAN, WHO HAS OLIGURIA. IT HAS BEEN DENIED THAT HE HAS RECENT SCARLET FEVER. HE HAS NOT-RECEIVED RADIOGRAPHIC CONTRAST MATERIAL. HE HAS NOT-RECEIVED NEPHROTOXIC DRUGS. HE HAS MODERATELY-ELEVATED URINE SODIUM.

Amsterdam: North-Holland

In L. Steels (Ed.), Advances in natural language processing. Antwerp, Belgium: University of Antwerp.

"The DENDRAL computer program uses established rules of molecular fragmentation to help chemists solve complex structural problems from mass spectral data. This paper describes a computer program called Meta-DENDRAL, that can aid in the discovery of such rules from empirical data on known components. The program uses heuristic methods to search for common structural environments around those bonds that are found to fragment and abstracts plausible fragmentation rules. The program has been tested on the well-characterized, low-resolution mass spectra of aliphatic amines and the high-resolution mass spectra of estrogenic steroids. The program has also discovered new fragmentation rules for mono-, di-, and triketoandrostanes."Journal of the American Chemical Society 98:6168-6178

In L. Steels (Ed.), Advances in natural language processing. Antwerp, Belgium: University of Antwerp.

Research Report No. 25, Edinburgh: Department of Artificial Intelligence, August 1976.