Diabetic foot advisor

Medicare in the US is becoming an issue in terms of coverage. With the government's emphasis on downsizing and reducing budget deficit, the trend points to patients absorbing more and more of the initial cost of medical treatment. The goal of this research is to explore the depth of the domain in a difficult area of medical diagnosis and build a prototype expert system to address one or more aspects of the domain. The problem domain of this research is the diabetic foot---a serious area among diabetics, controlled by self-help, medical treatment, or surgery. The expert system is designed to advise the diabetic user on the status of their foot and the alternatives available for proper and prompt solution. Knowledge acquisition techniques and lessons learned from this application are included in the work.