TraumAID has been developed to assist physicians with the diagnosis and treatment of penetrating trauma (gunshots and stab wounds) to the chest and the abdomen.

TraumAID is a program to assist physicians during the critical period after the patient comes into the hospital and has been stabilized (the time referred to as the initial definitive management). In such an emergency situation, it is important to assess when it is appropriate to diagnose, and when it is appropriate to treat the injuries. Often, a physician must initiate therapy (abbreviated Rx) before completely diagnosing the extent of the injuries. Sometimes, therapeutic actions can also help diagnose the patient's condition. From the known information, TraumAID proposes goals to address, such as a goal for diagnosing a particular condition or a goal for treating an injury. From these goals, TraumAID produces a plan (consisting of actions) that address the goals as best as possible, based on costs, time, location (some actions can only take place in certain areas, such as in the Operating Room), and other factors. In the development version of TraumAID, the program guides the user explicitly, or takes an active role in pursuing the diagnosis and treatment. For example, when the user enters the clinical findings and lets the program guide, the program may solicit more information or may decide it has enough information to act, in which case it suggests an action (the topmost from the plan). In general, bedside questions are asked first, and then the steps of the plan are executed. It is important to note that the program does not compile a complete plan for diagnosis and treatment, and then simply execute it. The program suggests a plan that addresses all the currently known goals, but as actions are done, more information becomes available which might change the plan. One of the most important aspects of TraumAID is its ability to change the plan to incorporate more information when it becomes available. The central philosophy behind this is that sometimes it is more important to act than it is to gather more information. TraumAID decides whether it is more worthwhile at the moment to pursue information gathering or perform treatment. In contrast, the TraumAID installed in the Emergency Room takes a passive role. This means that it does not ask a question or tell the doctor what to do; rather it accepts the actions that the doctors have performed, and displays the plan to the physicians.

TraumAID for Windows and Macintosh (CD-ROM)

Screen shots of the system are available at: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~traumaid

TraumAID has been developed over the past twelve years by the Computer and Information Science Department of the University of Pennsylvania and Alleghency University of the Health Sciences.

Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Moore School Building, 200 south 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-389, Phone: (215) 898 8560, Internet: http://www.cis.upenn.edu, E-mail: cis-info@cis.upenn.edu