Automated diagnostic system and method including alternative symptoms

• US 6,764,447 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2003
• Issued: 07/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Healthways SC, LLC (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: First Opinion Corporation (Tivity Health, Inc.)
• Inventors: Iliff, Edwin C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Astorino, Michael C
• Application Number:
  US10/382,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20030144580A1
• Time in Patent Office: 504 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300-301, 128/920-925, 434/262-275, 434/236-238, 705/2-4, 702/19, 706/924
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/925 Neural network

Abstract

Structure-based processing includes a method of diagnosing diseases that works by arranging diseases, symptoms, and questions into a set of related disease, symptom, and question structures, such as objects or lists, in such a way that the structures can be processed to generate a dialogue with a patient. A structure-based processing system organizes medical knowledge into formal structures and then executes those structures on a structure engine to automatically select the next question. Patient responses to the questions lead to more questions and ultimately to a diagnosis. An object-oriented embodiment includes software objects utilized as active, intelligent agents where each object performs its own tasks and calls upon other objects to perform their tasks at the appropriate time to arrive at a diagnosis. Alternative symptoms, synergies, encoding of patient responses, multiple diagnostic modes, disease profiles or timelines, and the reuse of diagnostic objects enhance the processing of the system and method.

Claims

1. A method of automated medical diagnosis of a patient, the method comprising:

a) evaluating symptom elements for the patient from a first set of symptom elements;

b) switching to evaluate symptom elements from a second set of symptom elements for a selected disease when a condition is satisfied;

c) reevaluating the previously evaluated symptom elements from the first set of symptom elements with corresponding symptom elements from the second set of symptom elements for the selected disease; and

d) automatically diagnosing a medical problem of the patient based on the evaluating and reevaluating of the symptom elements.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the symptom elements in the first set are authored by a different medical expert than a particular medical expert.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition comprises a diagnostic momentum reached by a disease element.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reevaluating is performed upon meeting a particular criterion.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the criterion includes a request by the patient.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each symptom element has an associated weight used in scoring disease elements, and wherein a weight for a symptom element in the first set is different than a weight of a corresponding symptom element in the second set of symptom elements.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each symptom element has an associated weight used in scoring disease elements, and wherein a weight for a symptom element in the first set is the same as a weight of a corresponding symptom element in the second set of symptom elements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each symptom element includes one or more questions, and wherein a question for a symptom element in the first set is worded differently than a question for a corresponding symptom element in the second set of symptom elements.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, prior to the evaluating, the method additionally comprises:

e) providing a disease element authored by a particular medical expert;

f) providing a plurality of symptom elements associated with the disease element, wherein a first set of one or more symptom elements is selected to be alternative by the particular medical expert, and a second set of one or more symptom elements is selected to be preferred by the particular medical expert; and

g) repeating e) and f) for other disease elements authored by medical experts other than the particular medical expert.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein d) occurs before b) and c).

14. The system of claim 4, wherein the second, third, fourth and fifth functions are performed until a termination condition is reached for the selected disease.

11. A system for automated medical diagnosis of a patient, the system comprising:

(a) a first function configured to select a disease applicable to the patient;

(b) a second function configured to select a symptom associated with the selected disease;

(c) a third function configured to automatically determine, for the selected disease, if the selected symptom has an alternative symptom that has already been evaluated;

(d) a fourth function configured to apply a diagnostic weight of the alternative symptom to a diagnostic score associated with the selected disease; and

(e) a fifth function configured to automatically determine if a diagnosis of the disease has been reached based on the diagnostic score after application of the weight.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the diagnostic weight is based on a value corresponding to the alternative symptom.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the third function includes evaluating the alternative symptom by determining the value of the symptom.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the first function is additionally configured to determine if there is an additional disease applicable to the patient, and wherein the first, second, third, fourth and fifth functions are performed until a termination condition is reached for the additional disease.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the third function checks whether an alternative symptom mode is enabled, wherein use of alternative symptoms is permitted.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the fourth function is configured to apply a diagnostic weight of the selected symptom to the diagnostic score of the selected disease if the selected symptom does not have an alternative symptom that has already been evaluated.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the diagnostic weight is based on a value corresponding to the selected symptom.

19. The system of claim 18, additionally comprising a seventh function configured to evaluate the selected symptom so as to determine the value of the symptom.

20. The system of claim 11, additionally comprising an eighth function configured to disable an alternative symptom mode such that usage of alternative symptoms is not permitted.

21. The system of claim 11, wherein the fourth function is configured to apply a diagnostic weight of the selected symptom to the diagnostic score of the selected disease if alternative symptoms are not permitted.

22. A system for automated medical diagnosis of a patient, the system comprising:

(a) means for selecting a disease applicable to the patient;

(b) means for selecting a symptom associated with the selected disease;

(c) means for automatically determining, for the selected disease, if the selected symptom has an alternative symptom that has already been evaluated;

(d) means for applying a diagnostic weight of the alternative symptom to a diagnostic score associated with the selected disease; and

(e) means for automatically determining if a diagnosis of the disease has been reached based on the diagnostic score after application of the weight.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the diagnostic weight is a function of a value corresponding to the alternative symptom.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the means for automatically determining includes means for evaluating the alternative symptom, wherein the means for evaluating comprises means for determining the value of the symptom.

25. The system of claim 22, additionally comprising means for repeating b) through e) until a termination condition is reached for the selected disease.

26. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for:

determining if there is an additional disease applicable to the patient; and

repeating a) through e) until a termination condition is reached for the additional disease.

27. The system of claim 22, additionally comprising means for enabling an alternative symptom mode wherein use of alternative symptoms is permitted.

28. The system of claim 22, additionally comprising means for applying a diagnostic weight of the selected symptom to the diagnostic score of the selected disease if the selected symptom does not have an alternative symptom that has already been evaluated.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the diagnostic weight is a function of a value corresponding to the selected symptom.

30. The system of claim 29, additionally comprising means for evaluating the selected symptom so as to determine the value of the symptom.

31. The system of claim 22, additionally comprising means for disabling an alternative symptom mode wherein use of alternative symptoms is not permitted.

32. The system of claim 22, additionally comprising means for applying a diagnostic weight of the selected symptom to the diagnostic score of the selected disease if alternative symptoms are not permitted.