J Korean Soc Clin Pharmacol Ther.  2012 Jun;20(1):51-59.

The Development of Automated Bed-allocation Expert System in Clinical Research Ward

• Song SM
• Kim JM
• Ghim JL
• Shin JG
• Kim EY

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Demands for complicated and long-term administration clinical trials have been increased since investigators actively involved in early stage clinical trials including first-in-human (FIH) trials. Research wards in our clinical trial center were mainly used for phase 1 trials. In order to perform several clinical trials simultaneously during a short period with a minimum number of rooms, beds, and equipment, staffs have to spend a lot of time for efficient operation of limited numbers of facilities. In this study, automated bed-allocation system was developed for efficient scheduling of the research ward based on clinical trial condition and status like experts.
METHODS
The system was developed based on clinical trial design, schedule, and the information on research bed and availability stored and updated in database (DB). Automatic assignment system was designed to find an optimal schedule according to the given information using expert rules and algorithms. The optimal solution can be visualized on Gantt chart using C# and Chart FX API.
RESULTS
The system was developed to demonstrate the schedule on color chart. It turned out to be well-designed to find an optimal schedule for bed allocation. The system also allows automatic updating of the schedule and information in the DB.
CONCLUSION
Automated bed-allocation system developed in this study could save time and improve the efficiency for using space and equipment in clinical trial center. The system can be also applied to similar works or tasks in other fields.

Keyword

Automated bed-allocation; Scheduling; Expert system; Clinical trial; Clinical research ward

MeSH Terms

Appointments and Schedules
Expert Systems
Humans
Research Personnel

Figure

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  Figure 1 Database diagram.

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  Figure 2 The algorithm of automated bed-allocation system.

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  Figure 3 Searching a schedule using the rules and algorithms from a clinical trial design.

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  Figure 4 The schema of automated bed-allocation system.

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  Figure 5 The system allocates automatically the research bed and ward based on entering clinical trial information and visualizes the schedule on Gantt chart.

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