GUUS an expert system in the intensive care unit.

In cooperation with the Rotterdam School of Management of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, an expert system GUUS was developed in the intensive care unit of the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Leiden University Hospital. This expert system is able to diagnose postoperative haemodynamic problems in patients after coronary artery surgery and can give suggestions for therapy. GUUS has been developed by using the expert system shell Acquaint. The knowledge base was initially based on existing protocols and interviews with the medical head of the intensive care unit. The first prototype was tested and modified by using actual patient cases collected via special questionnaires. Subsequently the performance of GUUS was tested in a single blind comparison with three human experts. The results of this test were encouraging and initiated further development and implementation of the system.