A Multi-Agent Based Virtual Personal Assistant for E-Health Service

Abstract

The application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the health sector is increasingly changing today’s health care. A communication agent for a multi-agent system-based virtual personal assistant is an attempt towards improving health care service delivery. We have developed a Multi Agent System and user interface for management of diabetes patients where the patients and medical specialist can interact easily without necessarily visiting the clinic. The application will enable the users to have regular interactions with each other, reduce the cost of going to the clinic, saves patients and medical personnel time. In order to design the application and user interface, we adopted a user centered approach and conducted interviews with the potential users. We also reviewed existing materials for data. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected during the development process. The application and user interface were evaluated by the potential users (patients and medical personnel). The user evaluation of the system shows that the participants were pleased with the application and the user interface. They interacted with the user interface with ease and they encountered little or no difficulty.

Keywords: multi-agent, e-health, virtual personal assistant, information and communication technology