Arden syntax

Arden syntax is a markup language used for representing and sharing medical knowledge. This clinical and scientific knowledge language is used in an executable format by clinical decision support systems to generate alerts, interpretations, and to screen and manage messages to clinicians. This syntax is used to share medical knowledge within and across many health service institutions. Rule sets, called Medical Logic Modules, comprise enough logic to make a single medical decision. Medical logic modules are written in Arden syntax, and are called by a program - an event monitor - when the condition they are written to help with occurs.

Arden syntax was formerly a standard under ASTM, published in 1992, and is now part of Health Level Seven International. Arden syntax version 2.0 was published by HL7 in 1999. Arden syntax version 2.9 is the current version.

The syntax offers potential users help deciding if the standard is appropriate for their purposes. It offers users and implementors knowledge of how parts of the standard were designed to be used. It also provides authors of other standards an insight that might be helpful in their own attempts in future designing of new languages.

The name, "Arden Syntax", was adopted from Arden House, located about 90 minutes north of Manhattan in Orange County, New York. Originally purchased by Edward Henry (E. H.) Harriman in 1885, the estate was given to Columbia University by his son W. Averell Harriman in 1950 following its use by the Navy in World War II. The house and grounds became a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and it is now a conference center. During the five-year IBM/CPMC R&D program, conferences and working sessions were hosted and led by CPMC at Arden House and attended by medical informaticians from several leading universities and hospitals, IBM personnel, and others directly or indirectly involved in the program. The "Arden Syntax" name was chosen in recognition of important milestones achieved at Arden House in the development and refinement of the syntax and its implementation.

The unit of representation in the Arden syntax is the Medical Logic Module (MLM). A Medical logic Module is composed of four categories, namely maintenance, library, knowledge and resources, with appropriate slots. Arden Syntax is an instance of a Knowledge Resource-Centric Knowledge Integration Architecture, where the knowledge resources command the delivery mechanisms of clinical decision support system.

...
Wikipedia