'Roadsigns' To Aid Docs

By all accounts doctors are bored of copping the blame when they accidentally prescribe horse tranquilisers instead of calpol to 5-year-olds. Now a French think tank has come up with a new idea to solve the problem of dodgy doses: roadsign-inspired icons on drugs packets.

The researchers describe their system as a "graphical language" (i.e. pictures) for "medical knowledge visualisation" (i.e. pictures of diseases).

Some of the researchers' new disease icons

The "language" uses a small set of graphical signs, akin to laundry symbols or road signs, which can be combined to build simple sentences that convey information such as a drug’s side effects or interactions and conditions when it should not be prescribed.

Helpfully the team have already come up with some of signs ready for use, the cerebral haemorrhage being an early favourite amongst many medics.

With such a large task ahead to illustrate all the diseases that doctors might come across, we at the Null have decided to do our bit towards helping the cause. We've produced an initial twelve (below) but want your suggestions also. Use the form at the bottom of the page to send in your suggestions.

Twelve new icons:

Use the form at the bottom of the pages to send in your suggestions for other icons.

Your Say:

Orchitis. It would be a bit like image F. A bit.

Richard