5.2 In using MESIA as a tool in powerplant monitoring, characteristics unique to the type of powerplant can be defined, ranges assigned and patterns will emerge as the filtering system is applied and will grow with use of an expert system. For example, if we want to monitor an internal conbustion engine (gasoline or diesel) we could combine devices to measure and report oil pressure, oil temperature, engine crankshaft revolutions per minute (RPMs), combustion pressure, combustion temperature, water temperature, fuel flow, crankshaft bearing vibration and exhaust gas composition; all of these will define patterns of relations of almost unlimited storage capability. Upon initial installation certain generic ranges and patterns can be defined, and as the system builds time and learns the individual powerplant charactertistics the database of patterns will grow and misleading error or failure messages will diminish. After a presently-undefined period of operational time, the system will not only be capable of detecting, defining and reporting more and more discrete emerging patterns, it will be able to perform failure predictions. If the operator of the powerplant can know of anticipated failures, maintenance/repairs can be scheduled for a convenient time and performed prior to actual damaging or potentially catastrophic failures. This presents the possibility for reducing repair time, cost and downtime, as well as potentially providing vital information for powerplant modification, redesign or new development. 5.3 The third example, that of using MESIA for monitoring patient status in critical care situations, is very similar to the concept behind monitoring powerplant performance. Fields composed of characteristics such as blood pressure, body temperature, blood gases, heart rate, EKG, respiration rate, kidney output, etc., can be used to generate relational patterns. Combining this with artifical intelligence and expert systems as with the other applications, the system can use its existing database as it learns the unique characteristics of each new patient and allow for instantaneous detection of changes in the combined patterns of these characteristics. For example, a patient who is in the early stages of renal failure may exhibit a discrete combination of changes in several characteristics which might not individually alarm a caregiver, but would trigger a response in MESIA because of a change in acceptable patterns of patient bodily function. This could potentially allow for treatment of changes in patient condition through gathering patient patterns over a period of years during routine office visits as well as hospitalizations. This could contribute to more immediate and effective health care and reduce expensive and invasive diagnostic procedures. 6. MESIA is potentially an almost universal application which the ability to successfully emulate and, in some ways exceed, human capabilites and characteristics. The leap beyond existing computer systems and MESIA is almost as clearly defined as the difference between the functions and capabilities of humans and computer. It is simply a matter of applying MESIA to areas of need to achieve the HAL 9000 computer of "2001."  |