Out of the blue, I picked up one of the many books from my girlfriend's table and started reading.

The booklet is titled "Protocol in O&G" with the hospital name at the end of it.

I was trying to understand.
Why is it so hard to be a doctor?

As a half-cooked engineering student, I started to read carefully and trying to look for a pattern.

In math, we call it the arts of simplifying equations.
You find something that's common, take it out, make the expression simpler to read.

In computer, I don't know the exact term for it, but we do the same, we look for a pattern and try to simplify the codes and make it more efficient for the machine to run.

In manufacturing, they call it lean manufacturing.
In business, simplifying the protocol or the culture or whatever it's called, is also a key to win.

I thought of the possibilities, the breakthrough.
But as I read on, I started to find it incomprehensible.

It's not that I don't understand the term or the name of the drugs.
It's that the procedures for every kind of situation are almost unique and non-repetitive.

The drugs are different, the timing of drugs are different, even the amount of drugs are different.

There's only one specific field of engineering knowledge resembles this.
It's called the rule-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert system.

I know it very well because it's the only class that I never skip and it's the only course that I will read the textbook before the class.

For a moment, I tried to view from a bigger picture.

A doctor is required to memorize every protocol in the booklet, and to be able to judge which situation the patient belongs to based on the reading from various instruments and test.

Suddenly, it struck me in my head, the smart home automation system that I have been working on in my final year can be modified to help.

It first started with the input - the sensors.
We need to find out what readings the protocols need may it be the blood pressure, heart beating rate, body temperature or the magnitude and frequency of the contraction of the womb.

All of the readings will be converted digitally and one or more micro controller will be needed to communicate with the sensors and poll the readings.

All of the micro controller will be linked to a less than RM 1000 pc through USB or PS2 or Wifi and transmit all the data.

Then comes the magic part.
Every protocols in the booklet are converted into a rule based expert system.
There're a lot of ways to code this, to be fast and dirty, Java, to be efficient and reliable, C++ or the trendy C#.

The readings will be processed, and the PC will search for the protocols and see which situation it matches.

Normal, abnormal, emergency, non-emergency.

And the instruction will be shown straight on the screen, when abnormality is encountered.

It saves doctors a great deal of brainpower, and ease the learning curve of newcomers.

Instead of remembering the exact amount of drugs to be used, doctors can spend their time more effectively debating the drugs, the protocols, the timing, and modify the protocols when needed.

And to be user friendly, the rule based system can be reprogrammed by doctors using a new and simple programming language which is built specifically for the medical field.

As I close the booklet, my dream is done up to here.
Perhaps there're just things that we couldn't change.

And perhaps, things can be only changed when we're determined to change.