Pig-vet: a web-based expert system for pig disease diagnosis

When a pig shows disease symptoms, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis to support control strategies. Diagnosing diseases in pigs requires considerable expertise. Only a few experts have the ability to do this, and each expert has his own specific domain. To make it more generally accessible and reduce the waiting time, an expert system named Pig-Vet has been developed by China Agricultural University. Based on investigations, this paper analyzes users' needs and describes the architecture, main components, and their functions. The system has over 300 rules and 202 images and graphics for different types of diseases and symptoms. It can diagnose 54 types of common diseases of pigs. At present the system is in pilot in north of China. The stage achievements in developing the intellectual expert system of pig disease diagnosis are summarized. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.