Mobile application development based on expert knowledge supporting screening Thalassemia carriers

Abstract

The goal of the research is to build a knowledge base for an expert system on testing results and evaluating the mobile application’s accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, supporting screening of Thalassemia carriers. This research collected the knowledge base about Thalassemia in reputable documents and reports. A retrospective, cross-sectional study was carried out based on medical records, including complete blood count results, Thalassemia genetic diagnosis results, and Thalassemia-related medical history of 233 pregnant women and husbands who came to screen for Thalassemia at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from August 2023 to June 2024. The results have shown that the average age of the pregnant women who joined the survey was 31 years old, only 8.61% of the study subjects had a history of giving birth to a child with Thalassemia. The most common type was alpha Thalassemia carrier (54.08%). 34 rules were developed for the knowledge base of the expert system for screening the risk of carrying the Thalassemia gene. The mobile application results from the expert knowledge system achieved an accuracy of 91.30%, a specificity of 72.73%, and a sensitivity of up to 99.22%. The software is applied in the form of a mobile phone app with a friendly and easy-to-use interface.