Medical information retrieval and indexing

Abstract

Dr. Chan K L. Assessor: Mr. Cheng L L

This project aims to develop an information system for the storage and communication of medical data. The system is intended to be used by doctors or the authorized hospital or clinical staff. The data involved are textual patient records, electrocardiograms, etc. Different retrieval schemes have been developed to handle different types of data. For the text record system, the database has been used to store the information. The retrieval of patient record can rely on query such as sex, record ID, weight, height, blood type or disease. Then the system will show the records that match the query. The users can view the record in detail. Also the users can easily add and retrieve patient record via the user-friendly interface. Hence, doctors can refer to the retrieved records in diagnosis. On the other hand, the system provides storage and retrieval functions for electrocardiogram (ECG) files. They include ECG file display, QRS complex detection, and ECG retrieval. The ECG file display shows the waveform of the MIT/BIH arrhythmia ECG file. The QRS detection can locate all the QRS positions of an ECG waveform. The system can extract individual heart beat cycles from the ECG waveform. Users can select and add the heart beat cycles to the database for future reference. ECG retrieval allows the search of heart beat cycles in the database, which mostly match to the query, based on the morphology of the characteristic ECG waves. Finally, this system can support different operating modes, such as the standalone and also client-server models. Hence, the users can retrieve the medical information at a remote terminal.