Neural network in communication with medical computer system.

The paper presents a concept of an experimental module designed to recognize spoken utterances that cover a limited range of words indispensable in dialogs with computer medical systems. Research into the recognition of spoken words by a module based on artificial neural network is described. Usefulness of the obtained results for surgery-assisting multimedia systems and for a patient simulator supporting medical education of students in case history-taking and diagnosing is also discussed.

Health telematics in postgraduate study.

The paper presents a description of a system that exploits possibilities offered by WWW and assists postgraduate education of physicians preparing for examinations in their medical specialisation. The system, which is a modification of the educational oncological system ONCOL1 designed earlier by the authors, is constructed so as to operate within the Polish medical education structure.

Neural network in communication with medical computer system.

The paper presents a concept of an experimental module designed to recognise spoken utterances that cover a limited range of words indispensable in dialogues with computer medical systems. Research into the recognition of spoken words by a module based on artificial neural network is described. Usefulness of the obtained results for surgery-assisting multimedia systems and for a patient simulator supporting medical education of students in case history-taking and diagnosing is also discussed.

TELONC system for oncology education.

The paper describes a pilot project of TELONC computer system designed to assist oncology education. At present the system is being implemented and its elements are subject to more detailed preliminary examinations. The system is of module structure and at the present stage of implementation special attention is being paid to patterns for histopathological examinations, information on drugs with aggressive impact on human organism together with suitable instructions on their usage, as well as to certain elements of the training simulator module.

Artificial intelligence elements in multimedia system for surgery.

The paper presents a concept of a computer system designed to assist a surgeon's work both before and during a surgical operation. The aim of multimedia in the system is to ensure comfort in communication between an operating surgeon and his assistants. The elements of artificial intelligence, on the other hand, are to assist the surgeon in taking optimal decisions in difficult and untypical situations.

Multimedia simulator of patient.

The paper presents a concept of an educational system for medical students designed to help them learn taking case history and diagnosing oncological patients. The system is a modification of the SYMULPA system worked out by the authors and implemented and tested at the Chemotherapy Clinic of the Medical Academy of Lódz. The main changes lie in the introduction of multimedia to the system, which improves communication capabilities of the system and enables a wider range of results to be considered and examined during case history taking.

Problems of knowledge acquisition automation in medical expert systems.

Certain problems exist in the automation of knowledge acquisition (identification of phenomena, their description, formalization and coding), for medical diagnosis, therapy and scientific investigations. Issues concern the comparison of various approaches and their ability to be implemented and utilized.

STUD2 system for computer assistance in oncology education.

In this paper, the application and use of microcomputers as an educational tool in oncology education is presented. The software packages of the system consists of two basic parts: exercises dealing with different subjects of oncology and a training module of diagnosis. The system STUD2 worked successfully in the Oncology Department of the Medical University of Lodz.

[ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome) after chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Complications in two patients treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]. / ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome) po chemioterapii i radioterapii. Opis powiklan u dwóch chorych leczonych z powodu chlloniaka zlosliwego.

Complications were described in two patients with non Hodgkins lymphoma (large cell anaplastic lymphoma and histiocytoma malignum) after completion of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Both patients died. In one of them it was established at autopsy that the cause of death was ARDS, while in the second case it was the clinical course which suggested the same diagnosis.

[Antiestrogens in the treatment of advanced breast cancer]. / Antyestrogeny w leczeniu zaawansowanego raka gruczolu piersiowego.

Fifty nine female patients with an advanced, recurrent breast cancer were treated with tamoxifen (TAM) in the daily dose of 40-60 mg. The drug was administered to 44 patients following ineffective chemotherapy and/or hormonotherapy with stilbestrol. Ineffective therapy was related with the deterioration of the general status. TAM was administered to the remaining 15 patients from the beginning due to the serious condition. Twenty four patients with the advanced breast cancer treated according to FAC regimen served as the control group. TAM produced significant improvement in health status of the majority of the treated patients and partial remission of cancer in 30% of them. Incidence of remissions, duration and survival period in patients treated with TAM for the advanced breast cancer did not differ significantly from the results obtained in the control group.

Beneficial response of local immunotherapy with Propionibacterium granulosum KP-45 in combined treatment of inflammatory breast carcinoma.

Nine 44- to 67-year-old patients with inflammatory breast carcinoma were treated over 2 weeks with intratumoral injections of Propionibacterium granulosum KP-45 (KP). This period of immunotherapy was succeeded by four courses of chemoimmunotherapy (FAC: 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide + intratumoral KP). Inflammatory symptoms disappeared in three patients during immunotherapy and in the remaining six patients during the following chemoimmunotherapy. Finally, 3 to 4 months after starting the therapy, all nine patients were free from inflammatory symptoms and it became possible to perform radical (seven cases) or simple (two cases) surgery. Thereafter routine therapy (radiotherapy, fractionated dose of 5500 R, followed by 10 FAC courses + single injections of KP for each FAC course) was used. After 19 to 32 months observation time all patients are still in complete remission with no local recurrences. Only one patient showed distant metastases during the observation period.

Local immunotherapy with propionibacterium granulosum KP-45 in advanced breast cancer.

50 patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer were matched into 25 "twin" pairs. In each pair, one "twin" received chemotherapy (FAC) and the other received chemoimmunotherapy (FAC + intratumorally Propionibacterium granulosum KP-45 (PG)). The therapeutic effects of this 2-year follow-up study were carefully documented and analysed. The mean survival time of FAC + PG-treated patients was about 17 months as compared to 8.5 months in FAC controls. PG-therapy responders showed increasing values of T-lymphocytes in peripheral blood, as well as higher blast transformation indices than nonresponders and controls. The skin reactivity to PHA, Distreptase, and Tuberculin was markedly enhanced in the FAC + PG-group. The incidence rate of hematological and/or infectious complications was significantly lower in PG-treated patients than in the controls. Local PG-immunotherapy was proven beneficial in advanced breast cancer when combined with FAC-chemotherapy, providing better toleration of chemotherapy and lower risk of myelosuppression and infections.