ISSN: 2277-9655 [Abdulkadir* et al., 6(9): September, 2017] Impact Factor: 4.116 IC™ Value: 3.00 CODEN: IJESS7 http: // www.ijesrt.com © International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology [440] IJESRT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY EXPERT SYSTEM IN RURAL MEDICAL CARE Abdulkadir Ahmed, Tahir Aduragba, Ayodeji Akeem Ajani, Bilkisu Jimada-Ojuolape, Muheeb Olanrewaju Ahmed. * Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Kwara State University, Nigeria DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.995946 ABSTRACT This paper looks into how an expert system can be used to solve rural problem as it relates to medical care. An expert system is a computer program that simulates the thought process of a human expert to solve complex decision problems in a specific domain. Rural medical care is a health care system found in the rural areas, whose operations are at its poorest state due to lack of sufficient medical practitioners. This research work looks into the areas of rural medical care that could be aided with the use of an expert system that would automate some of the processes and at the same time supplement the few medical officials available in the rural areas in order to improve on the healthcare system. This research considers the manual processes involved in the registration of patients in the rural medical centers, diagnosis and also the schedule of a follow-up appointment. Analysis of the current system was carefully carried out to determine where modification, changes and improvement should be made in the design of the proposed system. Finally, a computer system was designed; which would be used as prototype for further improvement. KEYWORDS: expert systems, rural care, medical care, diagnosis, health workers. I. INTRODUCTION Rural areas are areas secluded from the towns and cities and are limited to urban development. Compared with urban residents, rural residents have higher poverty rates, a larger percentage of elderly, tend to be in poorer health, have fewer doctors, hospitals, and other health resources, and face more difficulty getting to health services [1]. Lack of all these expose them to sub-standard living and diseases. Medical care is the delivery of modern medicine and facilities in the treatment of ailments to subdue the effects on the sick and also use of preventive medication for several other sicknesses. The few doctors available in the rural areas can be assisted by the introduction of Expert systems which could be operated by attendants and nurses in the rural hospitals/clinics/dispensaries. [2] distinguishes two approaches when defining an Expert system:  The human/artificial intelligence oriented approach and  The technology oriented approach. Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach defines an expert system as a computer system that performs functions similar to those normally performed by a human expert. In the technology approach, an expert system is a computer system that uses a representation of human expertise in a specialist domain in order to perform functions similar to those normally performed by a human expert in that domain. Generally, an expert system is a computer program that simulates the thought process of a human expert to solve complex decision problems in a specific domain. It operates as an interactive system that responds to questions, asks for clarification, makes recommendations and suggestions, and generally aids the decision-making process. In order to accomplish feats of apparent intelligence, an expert system relies on two components: a knowledge base and an inference engine. A knowledge base is an organized collection of facts about the system’s domain while an inference engine interprets and evaluates the facts in the knowledge base in order to provide an answer. Expert system in medical care is now very common in the various areas of specialization of the medical domain. The expert systems developed before are designed to handle single problem, for example to deal with heart disorders, blood infections etc. But nowadays, expert systems are designed to cover a broad range of problems in