Ethical and methodological aspects of medical computer data bases and knowledge bases.
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Artificial Intelligence↗
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Results for “Computing Methodologies”
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Medicine without drugs--a new direction for application of nanotechnology.
A working model of direct computer-organism interaction is described. The model is based on the understanding of the ways/modes, by which information is transmitted in the living organism. Information is transmitted in an organism by different ways. Communication between (among) the streams of different modes of information is provided by particular natural mechanisms--transformers and interconnectors. The model suggests that the functions of the cells, organs and systems of an organism can be monitored, controlled and governed directly by means of nano-computers. The application of a computer enables one to provide early diagnostics and successful treatment using specifically designed computer programs instead of, or in conjunction with, medications or surgery. The computer-organism interaction is being achieved through an effective engagement and interaction of the streams of computer generated information with the streams of information naturally transmitted in the organism.
Biotechnology↗
A multipurpose model of radiology appropriateness criteria.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Appropriateness criteria and practice guidelines are being developed in attempts to improve the cost-effectiveness of medical care. The authors sought to make a set of radiology appropriateness criteria usable for education, computer-based decision support, and utilization review. MODEL DEVELOPMENT: Sixty clinical conditions from the American College of Radiology's appropriateness criteria were selected. To make the information more suitable for automation, the names of the imaging procedures were standardized. Indexing terms were assigned to identify clinical conditions and to distinguish between each condition's variants. Semantic relationships between terms were defined. Information about the clinical conditions and variants, radiologic procedures, indexing terms, and relationships was encoded into a standardized language for document interchange. IMPLEMENTATION: The 1,956 rows in the appropriateness criteria tables for the 60 clinical conditions and their 212 variants were mapped into references to 163 distinct imaging procedures. The system's knowledge base included 301 indexing terms and 569 additional terms. CONCLUSION: Radiology appropriateness criteria can be indexed and encoded into a form that facilitates their use and interchange. The use of open, internationally accepted standards is an important step to make such knowledge portable and suitable for integration with evolving computer-based patient record systems.
Computing Methodologies↗
Biological applications of support vector machines.
One of the major tasks in bioinformatics is the classification and prediction of biological data. With the rapid increase in size of the biological databanks, it is essential to use computer programs to automate the classification process. At present, the computer programs that give the best prediction performance are support vector machines (SVMs). This is because SVMs are designed to maximise the margin to separate two classes so that the trained model generalises well on unseen data. Most other computer programs implement a classifier through the minimisation of error occurred in training, which leads to poorer generalisation. Because of this, SVMs have been widely applied to many areas of bioinformatics including protein function prediction, protease functional site recognition, transcription initiation site prediction and gene expression data classification. This paper will discuss the principles of SVMs and the applications of SVMs to the analysis of biological data, mainly protein and DNA sequences.
Algorithms↗
Intelligent machines in the twenty-first century: foundations of inference and inquiry.
The last century saw the application of Boolean algebra to the construction of computing machines, which work by applying logical transformations to information contained in their memory. The development of information theory and the generalization of Boolean algebra to Bayesian inference have enabled these computing machines, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, to be endowed with the ability to learn by making inferences from data. This revolution is just beginning as new computational techniques continue to make difficult problems more accessible. Recent advances in our understanding of the foundations of probability theory have revealed implications for areas other than logic. Of relevance to intelligent machines, we recently identified the algebra of questions as the free distributive algebra, which will now allow us to work with questions in a way analogous to that which Boolean algebra enables us to work with logical statements. In this paper, we examine the foundations of inference and inquiry. We begin with a history of inferential reasoning, highlighting key concepts that have led to the automation of inference in modern machine-learning systems. We then discuss the foundations of inference in more detail using a modern viewpoint that relies on the mathematics of partially ordered sets and the scaffolding of lattice theory. This new viewpoint allows us to develop the logic of inquiry and introduce a measure describing the relevance of a proposed question to an unresolved issue. Last, we will demonstrate the automation of inference, and discuss how this new logic of inquiry will enable intelligent machines to ask questions. Automation of both inference and inquiry promises to allow robots to perform science in the far reaches of our solar system and in other star systems by enabling them not only to make inferences from data, but also to decide which question to ask, which experiment to perform, or which measurement to take given what they have learned and what they are designed to understand.
Artificial Intelligence↗
Toward the neurocomputer: image processing and pattern recognition with neuronal cultures.
Information processing in the nervous system is based on parallel computation, adaptation and learning. These features cannot be easily implemented on conventional silicon devices. In order to obtain a better insight of how neurons process information, we have explored the possibility of using biological neurons as parallel and adaptable computing elements for image processing and pattern recognition. Commercially available multielectrode arrays (MEAs) were used to record and stimulate the electrical activity from neuronal cultures. By mapping digital images, i.e., arrays of pixels, into the stimulation of neuronal cultures, a low and bandpass filtering of images could be quickly and easily obtained. Responses to specific spatial patterns of stimulation were potentiated by an appropriate training (tetanization). Learning allowed pattern recognition and extraction of spatial features in processed images. Therefore, neurocomputers, (i.e., hybrid devices containing man-made elements and natural neurons) seem feasible and may become a new generation of computing devices, to be developed by a synergy of Neuroscience and Material Science.
Animals↗
Multimodal and ubiquitous computing systems: supporting independent-living older users.
We document the rationale and design of a multimodal interface to a pervasive/ubiquitous computing system that supports independent living by older people in their own homes. The Millennium Home system involves fitting a resident's home with sensors--these sensors can be used to trigger sequences of interaction with the resident to warn them about dangerous events, or to check if they need external help. We draw lessons from the design process and conclude the paper with implications for the design of multimodal interfaces to ubiquitous systems developed for the elderly and in healthcare, as well as for more general ubiquitous computing applications.
Activities of Daily Living↗
The smart house for older persons and persons with physical disabilities: structure, technology arrangements, and perspectives.
Smart houses are considered a good alternative for the independent life of older persons and persons with disabilities. Numerous intelligent devices, embedded into the home environment, can provide the resident with both movement assistance and 24-h health monitoring. Modern home-installed systems tend to be not only physically versatile in functionality but also emotionally human-friendly, i.e., they may be able to perform their functions without disturbing the user and without causing him/her any pain, inconvenience, or movement restriction, instead possibly providing him/her with comfort and pleasure. Through an extensive survey, this paper analyzes the building blocks of smart houses, with particular attention paid to the health monitoring subsystem as an important component, by addressing the basic requirements of various sensors implemented from both research and clinical perspectives. The paper will then discuss some important issues of the future development of an intelligent residential space with a human-friendly health monitoring functional system.
Activities of Daily Living↗
EthoVision: a versatile video tracking system for automation of behavioral experiments.
The need for automating behavioral observations and the evolution of systems developed for that purpose is outlined. Video tracking systems enable researchers to study behavior in a reliable and consistent way and over longer time periods than if they were using manual recording. To overcome limitations of currently available systems, we have designed EthoVision, an integrated system for automatic recording of activity, movement, and interactions of animals. The EthoVision software is presented, highlighting some key features that separate EthoVision from other systems: easy file management, independent variable definition, flexible arena and zone design, several methods of data acquisition allowing identification and tracking of multiple animals in multiple arenas, and tools for visualization of the tracks and calculation of a range of analysis parameters. A review of studies using EthoVision is presented, demonstrating the system's use in a wide variety of applications. Possible future directions for development are discussed.
Animals↗
Unenhanced spiral CT for evaluating acute appendicitis in daily routine. A prospective study.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The purpose of this study was to define in a routine setting the role of spiral computed tomography in patients with suspected acute appendicitis and to determine the effect of computed tomography on the treatment of such patients. METHODOLOGY: Appendiceal computed tomography was performed in 120 consecutive patients with acute appendicitis in the differential diagnosis, whose clinical findings were insufficient to perform surgery or to discharge from the hospital. Each scan was obtained in a single breath hold from the lower abdomen to the upper pelvis using a 5-mm collimation and a pitch of 1.6. Computed tomography results were correlated with surgical and pathologic findings at appendectomy or clinical follow-up. RESULTS: Eighty-eight of the 93 patients with acute appendicitis were correctly diagnosed by computed tomography, 24 of the 27 patients without acute appendicitis were correctly diagnosed by computed tomography (95% sensitivity, 89% specificity). Computed tomography signs of acute appendicitis included fat stranding (100%), enlarged appendix (> 6 mm) (97%), adenopathy (63%), appendicoliths (43%), abscess (10%), and phlegmon (5%). CONCLUSIONS: The use of spiral computed tomography in patients with equivocal clinical presentation suspected of having acute appendicitis led to a significant improvement in the preoperative diagnosis and a lower negative appendectomy rate. Appendiceal computed tomography is an accurate technique even if performed in the daily routine of scanning.
Acute Disease↗
A methodological tool for computer-assisted surgery interface design: its application to computer-assisted pericardial puncture.
Computer Assisted Surgery systems are becoming more and more prevalent. Design processes currently used, pay only a small attention to the surgeon's interaction. To address this lack in design, we propose the OP-a-S notation: OP-a-S modeling of a system adopts an interaction-centered point of view and highlights the links between the real world and the virtual world. Based on an OP-a-S modeling, predictive usability analysis can be performed by considering the ergonomic property. We illustrate our method on the retro-design of a computer assisted surgical application, CASPER.
Computer Simulation↗
An automated tool for an analysis of compliance to evidence-based clinical guidelines.
Evidence-based clinical guidelines have been developed in an attempt to decrease practice variation and improve patient outcomes. Although a number of studies and a few commercial products have attempted to measure guideline compliance, there still exists a strong need for an automated product that can take as input large amounts of data and create systematic and detailed profiles of compliance to evidence-based guidelines. The Guideline Compliance Assessment Tool is a product presently under development in our group that will accept as input medical and pharmacy claims data and create a guideline compliance profile that assesses provider practice patterns as compared to evidence-based standards. The system components include an episode of care grouper to standardize classifications of illnesses, an evidence-based guideline knowledge base that potentially contains information on several hundred distinct conditions, a guideline compliance scoring system that emphasizes systematic guideline variance rather than random variances, and an advanced data warehouse that would allow drilling into specific areas of interest. As provider profiling begins to shift away from a primary emphasis on cost to an emphasis on quality, automated methods for measuring guideline compliance will become important in measuring provider performance and increasing guideline usage, consequently improving the standard of care and the potential for better patient outcomes.
Computing Methodologies↗
Improving computing.
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Computer Security↗
Autosomal linkage in humans (methodology and results of computer analysis).
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Alleles↗
Thermo-variance spectra; simplified computational example and other methodology. II.
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Electronic Data Processing↗
Quantification methodology for peripheral quantitative computed tomography (PQCT) data using public domain software.
OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for viewing, processing and acquiring 3-dimensional volumetric data from existing ovine spinal peripheral quantitative computed tomography (PQCT) scans of posterior lateral fusion. DESIGN: An image processing development study. BACKGROUND: Existing medical image viewing software can be expensive and difficult to adapt to meet specific research needs. The goals of this study were to produce volume rendering of PQCT scans through processing, masking, and segmentation using public domain software with established source code. METHODS: Raw data files (DICOM format) of 32 PQCT scans from animals receiving spine fusion were obtained. Metal hardware was removed from the images by masks and image segmentation. Calculation of bone macro-architecture volumetric data was performed on right and left sides of spines to quantify fusion volume in normalized segments between transverse processes. RESULTS: Images were acquired and opened. Application of image processing techniques made it possible to remove surgical hardware from original images with minimal loss of original PQCT data. Volumes were calculated and normalized to gray-scale of total bone throughout individual selected segments. CONCLUSION: Using public domain software is a cost effective means to view, process, and manipulate PQCT data. Bone macro-architecture can provide quantitative volumetric contributions to ascertain the role of structure on mechanical function.
Algorithms↗
Structure-activity study and design of multidrug-resistant reversal compounds by a computer automated structure evaluation methodology.
We have studied the relation between the structure and the multidrug resistance-reversal activity of a set of diverse chemicals with the MULTICASE structure-activity program. A number of key structural features were identified as being related to multidrug resistance reversal activity. Using these key features, we identified seven new compounds predicted to have substantial activity. These were obtained and tested experimentally on a CHO/CHRC5 cell line derived from the AB1 Chinese hamster ovary line in the presence of vincristine and vinblastine. Of the seven compounds tested so far, four showed substantial reversal activity, the most potent of them exhibiting activity at par with verapamil.
Animals↗
[Principles and methodology of densitometry in computed tomography].
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Densitometry↗