The TOPOSCOUT expert system for stroke localization

Abstract

Clinically, strokes are localized by the findings on neurologic examination. TOPOSCOUT is an expert system designed to diagnose the anatomic location and the corresponding vascular territory of strokes based on the clinical signs and symptoms. The inference engine of TOPOSCOUT uses a backtracking algorithm and a rule-based data base that includes associations of neurologic signs with vascular and anatomic areas. TOPOSCOUT is capable of detecting typical stroke patterns, for example, "top-of-the-basilar" or Wallenberg's syndromes. The accuracy of TOPOSCOUT's diagnoses has been tested for conformity with the final diagnoses of 129 patients in the Hamburg Stroke Data Bank, and a high level of agreement was found for hemispheric lesions. The program runs on microcomputers with MS-DOS and is intended as a practical aid for physicians not fully familiar with topologic stroke diagnosis and as an interactive teaching device.