This paper studies the problem of learning diagnostic policies from training examples. A diagnostic policy is a complete description of the decision-making actions of a diagnostician (i.e., tests followed by a diagnostic decision) for all possible combinations of test results. An optimal diagnostic policy is one that minimizes the expected total cost, which is the sum of measurement costs and m...

INTRODUCTION This study aims to assess patients' and caregivers' views on and experiences with (1) decisions about diagnostic testing for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and (2) receiving test results. METHODS We conducted separate focus groups with patients from three hospitals who underwent diagnostic testing for AD (N = 11) and their caregivers (N = 11). Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Previous studies showed that the accuracy of IgG subclasses (ISs) in differentiating membranous lupus nephritis (MLN) from primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) is <80%. This study hypothesized that diagnostic accuracy of ISs would be increased if renal compartment measurements and decision tree analysis are applied. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Renal...

We evaluated the usefulness of detection systems and diagnostic decision support systems for bioterrorism response. We performed a systematic review by searching relevant databases (e.g., MEDLINE) and Web sites for reports of detection systems and diagnostic decision support systems that could be used during bioterrorism responses. We reviewed over 24,000 citations and identified 55 detection s...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a rapidly progressive disease and despite the progress in the treatment of cancer, remains a life-threatening illness with a poor prognosis. Diagnostic techniques of the oral cavity are not painful, non-invasive, simple and inexpensive methods. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are the most important diagnostic technologies used...

OBJECTIVE Few previous studies evaluating the benefits of diagnostic decision support systems have simultaneously measured changes in diagnostic quality and clinical management prompted by use of the system. This report describes a reliable and valid scoring technique to measure the quality of clinical decision plans in an acute medical setting, where diagnostic decision support tools might pro...

Diagnosing multiple faults for a complex system is often very difficult. It requires not only a model which adequately represents the diagnostic aspect of a complex system, but also an efficient diagnostic algorithm that can generate effective test and repair recommendations. One way of developing such an efficient and effective diagnostic algorithm is to focus the computational resource on dis...