Optimal testing policies for diagnosing patients with intermediary probability of disease

Publication date: Available online 5 December 2018Source: Artificial Intelligence in MedicineAuthor(s): Edilson F. Arruda, Basílio B. Pereira, Clarissa A. Thiers, Bernardo R. TuraAbstractThis paper proposes a stochastic shortest path approach to find an optimal sequence of tests to confirm or discard a disease, for any prescribed optimality criterion. The idea is to select the best sequence in which to apply a series of available tests, with a view at reaching a diagnosis with minimum expenditure of resources. The proposed approach derives an optimal policy whereby the decision maker is provided with a test strategy for each a priori probability of disease, aiming to reach posterior probabilities that warrant either immediate treatment or a not-ill diagnosis.
Source: Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Category: Bioinformatics Source Type: research