Medical diagnosis as a linguistic game.

BACKGROUND: We present a formalized medical knowledge system using a linguistic approach combined with a semantic net. METHOD: Diseases are defined and coded by natural linguistic terms and linked via a complex network of attributes, categories, classes, lists and other semantic conditions. RESULTS: We have isolated more than 4600 disease entities (termed pathosoms using a made-up word) with more than 100.000 attributes sets (termed pathophemes using a made-up word) and a semantic net with more than 140.000 links. All major-medical thesauri like ICD, ICD-O and OPS are included. CONCLUSIONS: Memem7 is a linguistic approach to medical knowledge approach. With the system, we performed a proof of concept and we conclude from our data that our or similar approaches provides reliable and feasible tools for physicians given a formalized history taking is available. Our approach can be considered as both a linguistic game and a third opinion to a set of patient's data.

Experience with telepathology in combination with diagnostic assistance systems in countries with restricted resources.

INTRODUCTION: We describe the use of telepathology in countries with restricted resources using two diagnosis assistance systems (Isabel and Memem7) in addition to the diagnoses made by experts in pathology via the iPath-Network. METHODS: A total of 156 cases, largely from Afghanistan, were analysed; 18 cases had to be excluded because of poor image quality. RESULTS: Of the remaining 138 cases (100%), a responsible physician provided a tentative diagnosis for 61.6% of them. With a diagnosis from a consultant pathologist, it was then possible to make a definite diagnosis in 84.8% of cases on the basis of images taken from hematoxylin and eosin staining sections alone. The use of the diagnosis assistance systems resulted in an ordered list of differential diagnoses in 82.6% (IsabelHealth) and in 74.6% (Memem7) of cases, respectively. Adding morphological terminology reduced the list of possible diagnoses to 52.2% (72 cases, Memem7), but improved their quality. DISCUSSION: In summary, diagnosis assistance systems are promising approaches to provide physicians in countries with restricted resources with lists of probable differential diagnoses, thus increasing the plausibility of the diagnosis of the consultant pathologist.