A clinical flow cytometry data analysis assistant

A rule-based expert system is being developed to assist clinicians in the analysis of multivariate flow cytometry data for patients with leukemias or lymphomas. The cells are stained with fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibodies and the cell fluorescence is measured with a flow cytometer. Cluster analysis is used to isolate subpopulations in the data on which the clinical decisions are made. Symbolic facts for the expert system are instantiated using these numerical data and the knowledge of the clinicians and experts in flow cytometry. The first prototype used a decision tree and rigid rules. Is successfully classified only nine of eleven leukemia cases. A second prototype incorporating certainty factors into the rules is now being developed that should remove the need for a rigid decision tree. 9 refs