Automatically developing neuropsychiatric treatment plans based on neuroimage data

• US 7,996,242 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2008
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fueyo, Joanna Lynn, Kraemer, James R., Angell, Robert Lee, Friedlander, Robert R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilligan; Luke
• Assistant Examiner(s): BURGESS, JOSEPH D
• Application Number:
  US12/169,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20100010827A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 3
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/70 relating to mental therapies, e.g. psychological therapy or autogenous training
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for developing neuropsychiatric treatment plans. A treatment plan generator receives a set of diagnoses for a patient. The treatment plan generator automatically analyzes medical information in a set of electronic medical literature sources for potential therapies associated with treatment of each identified condition in the set of diagnoses. The treatment plan generator identifies the potential therapies associated with the treatment of each diagnosed condition. The treatment plan generator selects a set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient. The treatment plan generator generates a treatment plan. The treatment plan comprises the set of recommended therapies to treat each diagnosed condition in the set of diagnoses.

Claims

1. A method of developing neuropsychiatric treatment plans, the method comprising:

a computer receiving a set of scans for a patient;

the computer automatically analyzing the set of scans to identify regions of interest;

the computer identifying brain architecture and brain metabolism based on characteristics in the regions of interest; and

the computer generating a set of diagnoses based on the characteristics in the regions of interest, the brain architecture, and the brain metabolism;

the computer receiving the set of diagnoses for the patient, wherein the set of diagnoses comprises diagnoses for neuropsychiatric conditions;

the computer automatically analyzing medical information in a set of electronic medical literature sources for potential therapies associated with treatment of each identified condition in the set of diagnoses;

the computer identifying the potential therapies associated with the treatment of each diagnosed condition;

the computer selecting a set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient, wherein the set of recommended therapies comprises a plurality of therapies recommended for treatment of each neuropsychiatric condition identified in the set of diagnoses;

the computer generating a treatment plan, wherein the treatment plan comprises the set of recommended therapies to treat each condition identified in the set of diagnoses; and

the computer presenting the treatment plan to a user with a link to relevant portions of the medical literature associated with each therapy in the treatment plan.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the treatment plan further comprises an identification of negative drug interactions, side effects, allergic reactions, and negative effects on pre-existing conditions of the patient that are associated with the set of recommended therapies.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient further comprises:

responsive to identifying a therapy in the potential therapies that cannot be applied in conjunction with at least one other therapy in the potential therapies to form an inapplicable therapy, the computer removing the inapplicable therapy from the set of potential therapies.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient further comprises:

the computer receiving the medical history, wherein the medical history comprises an identification of therapies contraindicated for the patient, wherein a contraindicated substance is a substance with a potential to cause an exacerbation of an underlying condition in the patient; and

responsive to identifying a therapy associated with a contraindication, the computer removing the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient further comprises:

the computer receiving information describing drug interactions and a list of drugs currently being taken by the patient; and

responsive to identifying a therapy in the potential therapies that includes utilization of a drug that produces a negative drug interaction with a drug on the list of drugs currently being taken by the patient, the computer automatically removing the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and the medical history for the patient further comprises:

the computer receiving the medical history, wherein the medical history comprises an identification of pre-existing conditions of the patient; and

responsive to identifying a therapy identified as a cause of a negative impact on a pre-existing condition of the patient, the computer automatically removing the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the computer presenting the treatment plan with relevant portions of the medical literature associated with each therapy in the treatment plan, wherein the relevant portions of the medical literature comprises information describing drug interaction warning, side-effects associated with each therapy, dosage recommendations, recommendations on a frequency for administering each therapy to the patient, contraindications, allergy warnings, and an expected response to each therapy by the patient.

8. A computer program product for developing neuropsychiatric treatment plans, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive a set of scans for a patient;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to automatically analyze the set of scans to identify regions of interest;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to identify brain architecture and brain metabolism based on characteristics in the regions of interest; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to generate a set of diagnoses based on the characteristics in the regions of interest, the brain architecture, and the brain metabolism;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive the set of diagnoses for the patient, wherein the set of diagnoses comprises diagnoses for neuropsychiatric conditions;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to automatically analyze medical information in a set of electronic medical literature sources for potential therapies associated with treatment of each identified condition in the set of diagnoses;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to identify the potential therapies associated with the treatment of each diagnosed condition;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to select a set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient, wherein the set of recommended therapies comprises a plurality of therapies recommended for treatment of each neuropsychiatric condition identified in the set of diagnoses;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to generate a treatment plan, wherein the treatment plan comprises the set of recommended therapies to treat each diagnosed condition in the set of diagnoses; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to present the treatment plan to a user with a link to relevant portions of the medical literature associated with each therapy in the treatment plan.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the treatment plan further comprises an identification of negative drug interactions, side effects, allergic reactions, and negative effects on pre-existing conditions of the patient that are associated with the set of recommended therapies.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to identify a therapy in the potential therapies that cannot be applied in conjunction with at least one other therapy in the potential therapies to form an inapplicable therapy and remove the inapplicable therapy from the set of potential therapies.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive the medical history, wherein the medical history comprises an identification of therapies contraindicated for the patient, wherein a contraindicated substance is a substance with a potential to cause an exacerbation of an underlying condition in the patient; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to remove the therapy from the set of therapies in response to identifying the therapy as a therapy associated with a contraindicated substance.

12. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive information describing drug interactions and a list of drugs currently being taken by the patient; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to identify a therapy in the potential therapies that includes utilization of a drug that produces a negative drug interaction with a drug on the list of drugs currently being taken by the patient and automatically remove the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive the medical history, wherein the medical history comprises an identification of pre-existing conditions of the patient; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to identify a therapy identified as a cause of a negative impact on a pre-existing condition of the patient and automatically removing the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

14. A computer system for developing neuropsychiatric treatment plans, the computer system comprising:

one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories and one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to receive a set of scans for a patient;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to automatically analyze the set of scans to identify regions of interest;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to identify brain architecture and brain metabolism based on characteristics in the regions of interest; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to generate a set of diagnoses based on the characteristics in the regions of interest, the brain architecture, and the brain metabolism;

program instructions for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive the set of diagnoses for the patient, wherein the set of diagnoses comprises diagnoses for neuropsychiatric conditions;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to automatically analyze medical information in a set of electronic medical literature sources for potential therapies associated with treatment of each identified condition in the set of diagnoses;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to identify the potential therapies associated with the treatment of each diagnosed condition;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to select a set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient, wherein the set of recommended therapies comprises a plurality of therapies recommended for treatment of each neuropsychiatric condition identified in the set of diagnoses; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to generate a treatment plan, wherein the treatment plan comprises the set of recommended therapies to treat each diagnosed condition in the set of diagnoses.

15. The computer system of claim 14 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to present the treatment plan to a user with a link to relevant portions of the medical literature associated with each therapy in the treatment plan.

16. The computer system of claim 14 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to receive information describing drug interactions and a list of drugs currently being taken by the patient;

identifying a therapy in the potential therapies that includes utilization of a drug that produces a negative drug interaction with a drug on the list of drugs currently being taken by the patient; and

automatically remove the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

17. The computer system of claim 14 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to receive the medical history, wherein the medical history comprises an identification of pre-existing conditions of the patient;

identify a therapy identified as a cause of a negative impact on a pre-existing condition of the patient; and

automatically remove the therapy from the set of recommended therapies.

18. A data processing system for developing neuropsychiatric treatment plans, the system comprising:

a scanning device, wherein the scanning device generates a set of scans for a patient;

a neuroimage analyzer, wherein the neuroimage analyzer analyzes the set of scans for the patient to identify a set of regions of interest in the scans, wherein a region of interest is an area that shows an indicator of a neuropsychiatric condition;

a diagnostic engine, wherein the diagnostic engine generates a set of diagnoses based on an analysis of indicators identified in the set of regions of interest and relevant portions of medical literature, wherein the set of diagnoses comprises diagnoses for neuropsychiatric conditions;

a data storage device, wherein the data storage device stores the set of diagnoses for the patient;

a set of electronic medical literature sources, wherein the set of electronic medical literature sources comprises medical literature in an electronic form;

a treatment plan generator, wherein the treatment plan generator automatically analyzes the medical literature in the set of electronic medical literature sources for potential therapies associated with treatment of each identified condition in the set of diagnoses;

identifies the potential therapies for treatment of each diagnosed condition;

selects a set of recommended therapies from the potential therapies based on portions of the medical literature describing each therapy in the potential therapies and a medical history for the patient, wherein the set of recommended therapies comprises a plurality of therapies recommended for treatment of each neuropsychiatric condition identified in the set of diagnoses;

generates a treatment plan, wherein the treatment plan comprises the set of recommended therapies to treat each diagnosed condition in the set of diagnoses; and

presents the treatment plan to a user with a link to relevant portions of the medical literature associated with each therapy in the treatment plan.