4 ms·

How does this use "AI"? Right now it seems like a less robust version of WebMD's multiple symptom checker. http://symptoms.webmd.com/coresc/landing#/introView

by parfe 15y ago

How does this use "AI"? Right now it seems like a less robust version of WebMD's multiple symptom checker. http://symptoms.webmd.com/coresc/landing#/introView http://symptoms.webmd.com/coresc/landing#/introView For example, I can click Arm -> Armpit -> Lump or Bulge and see the possible conditions. Armpit doesn't even exist in your system. Which would be fine if I already knew how to self diagnose a swollen lymph node. Of course, if I didn't, I would still need a doctor to tell me what search term to use on your site. I can understand if the system is early in development, but if it doesn't do anything for the layman why would my doctor care if I saw it?

cmonsen 15y ago
We've started with the most common symptoms, but are building it out more. We'll add the armpit, thanks for the suggestions! The AI component is the fact that we train our algorithm based on clinical data from real patients (started with CDC data -- 500k at the moment and counting as people use the site). I've had bad experiences with the WebMD symptom checker like most people I've spoken to. Try typing in "chills" and you get "Lyme disease, acne, Bubonic plague" (no joke). WebMD makes money on advertising, so they unfortunately direct you to the pages that are going to keep you on the site for longer. You may find what you have using their symptom checker, but it is really optimized to keep you clicking.
- Dn_Ab 15y ago
  Can you be a bit less general about your algorithm? Without giving any specifics that you may wish to keep to yourself of course. What distinguishes it from statistical methods for example?
- Ralith 15y ago
  Expert systems have a history of being used very effectively in this domain. Have you considered incorporating one?
  - cmonsen 15y ago
    We'd love to incorporate a DXPlain or QMR as a starting point, but the true value of this is in learning from additional use/data.
baddox 15y ago
I'm not familiar with how either system works, but there are definitely "symptom checkers" which would qualify as AI. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_decision_support_system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_decision_support_syste... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_diagnosis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_diagnosis

by parfe 15y ago

cmonsen 15y ago

We've started with the most common symptoms, but are building it out more. We'll add the armpit, thanks for the suggestions! The AI component is the fact that we train our algorithm based on clinical data from real patients (started with CDC data -- 500k at the moment and counting as people use the site). I've had bad experiences with the WebMD symptom checker like most people I've spoken to. Try typing in "chills" and you get "Lyme disease, acne, Bubonic plague" (no joke). WebMD makes money on advertising, so they unfortunately direct you to the pages that are going to keep you on the site for longer. You may find what you have using their symptom checker, but it is really optimized to keep you clicking.

Dn_Ab 15y ago
Can you be a bit less general about your algorithm? Without giving any specifics that you may wish to keep to yourself of course. What distinguishes it from statistical methods for example?
Ralith 15y ago
Expert systems have a history of being used very effectively in this domain. Have you considered incorporating one?
- cmonsen 15y ago
  We'd love to incorporate a DXPlain or QMR as a starting point, but the true value of this is in learning from additional use/data.

baddox 15y ago

I'm not familiar with how either system works, but there are definitely "symptom checkers" which would qualify as AI. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_decision_support_system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_decision_support_syste... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_diagnosis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_diagnosis