Medical application areas

Within the area of medicine a multitude of possible applications exist for knowledge management and computational intelligence. In all areas where researchers and medical practitioners have to deal with lot of data, potentials exist for neural networks, fuzzy logic, and evolutionary algorithms in discovering new knowledge. One example is the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. An image analysis of the brain, together with information about the general state of health of patients can indicate the danger of coming down with Alzheimer's disease. A similar approach can be used for the early detection of strokes. Other types of data which can be used for risk detection are for example data about the way of living of patients (eating habits, smoker/non-smoker, work etc.). If signs of risk were identified, possible therapies can be discussed with the patient to avoid severe illness.

Furthermore, with support of knowledge management systems a better collaboration between medical practitioners and researchers can be achieved. Knowledge management portals can offer a platform on which all concerned medics and researchers can share their knowledge in specific areas. Finally this leads to knowledge gains for everyone.