SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING WHEN PLANNING THE LASER LITHOTRIPSY PROCEDURE

Abstract

When preparing for the laser lithotripsy procedure, choosing the parameters of the laser installation,
the doctor considers many factors, such as the mass and density of concretions found in the kidney,
the location of kidney stones, and the proximity of blood vessels. Another important parameter is the time
of exposure to the stone with a laser beam before the stone is destroyed. At the same time, calculating the
time of destruction of a stone is a rather time–consuming procedure, the time of destruction depends on
the mass of the stone and the parameters of the laser energy and its frequency. Therefore, it is relevant to
create a system to support medical decision-making during the laser lithotripsy procedure, which allows
you to calculate the time of stone destruction and select the values of laser parameters. The article proposes
an algorithm to support the choice of the laser operating mode by a urologist during the laser lithotripsy
procedure in the treatment of human urolithiasis, which is part of the medical decision support system
in surgery and urology using computer vision technologies. The proposed algorithm for fuzzy estimation
of laser parameters when choosing its operating mode, depending on the mass of the stone and the
selected time of destruction of the stone and other factors (distribution of stone density, location of the
stone in the kidney, proximity of walls and vessels) generates recommendations for setting the parameters
of the laser. The medical decision support system made it possible to reduce the time for a doctor to decide,
to avoid mistakes when choosing the parameters of the laser installation for crushing kidney stones.