Method and system for detecting and analyzing clinical pictures and the causes thereof and for determining proposals for appropriate therapy

• US 20050234306A1
• Filed: 06/14/2003
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merck Patent GmbH (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Merck Patent GmbH (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Schulte, Martin, Norden, Marion, Ganzer, Joachim
• Granted Patent: US 8,010,378 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• 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: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for detecting and analyzing clinical pictures and the causes thereof and determining appropriate therapy proposals. In order to provide a system for detecting and analyzing clinical pictures and the causes thereof and for determining proposals for appropriate therapy, which can lead to a diagnosis and a corresponding therapy proposal even in the case of complex clinical causes and pictures, said proposal involving a maximum diagnostic certainty and minimum risk for the patient, the method disclosed in the invention comprises the following characteristics: a) drawing up at least one set of anamnesis questions and storing said set in a data storage; b) drawing up a record of data on the causes of the disease and storing said record in a data storage; c) preparing a computer program that selects and presents anamnesis questions in accordance with a given set of rules; d) registering the answers to the anamnesis questions: e) generating a set of possible diagnosis based on the answers registered in step d) and optionally generating proposals for exams and tests to further narrow down the diagnosis: f) drawing up one or several diagnosis proposals and g) drawing up one or more therapy proposals, wherein particularly steps c) to g) are runned automatically under the control of an interactive computer program. According to the invention, the system has the following characteristics: a) a storage with a stored set of anamnesis questions: b) a stored set of data on the causes of the disease, including pathogenic and/or allergenic matter; c) a computer having a computer program that selects and presents anamnesis questions in accordance with a predetermined set of rules; d) an input device for entering patient data and answers to the anamnesis questions: e) a storage for the inputted data; f) a computer program that processes the inputted data with the purpose of drawing up one or more diagnosis and one or more therapy proposals and g) an output device for presenting the questions, the diagnosis and the therapy proposals.

Claims

1. Method for recording and analyzing syndromes and their causes and for establishing appropriate therapy proposals with the following features

a) Preparing at least one set of anamnesis questions and storing this set in a data memory,

b) Preparing a set of data relating to the causes of diseases and storing this set in a data memory,

c) Providing a computer program which selects and presents anamnesis questions according to a predetermined set of rules,

d) Recording the answers to the anamnesis questions,

e) Creating a set of possible diagnoses on the basis of the answers which have been recorded in step d) and optionally creating examination or test proposals to further narrow down the diagnosis,

f) Preparing one or more diagnosis proposals and

g) Preparing one or more therapy proposals, with steps e) to g) in particular proceeding automatically under the control of an interactive computer program.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that optionally within the framework of the anamnesis questions, preliminary information is recorded which includes at least the age and gender of a patient and optionally further general features such as for example principal symptoms, affected organs and/or other diagnosed illnesses.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the anamnesis questions include questions relating to the time and/or cause of the occurrence, the severity of symptoms and the environmental exposure of the patient.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that step b) includes a listing and storage of causes of diseases, in particular also of allergens.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that point values are awarded to at least some of the answers to anamnesis questions recorded in step d).

6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the point values for specific answers or groups of answers are added and/or multiplied together, in order to create total point values for a group of answers and/or the entire anamnesis.

7. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the anamnesis answers are at least partly predetermined in discrete selection steps.

8. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that a set of possible diagnoses according to step e) is created using the criterion of whether the total point values for specific groups of answers and/or the entire anamnesis exceed a predeterminable threshold value.

9. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that step e) includes the comparison of the obtained set of answers with other sets of answers which have been obtained from earlier ananmeses.

10. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that contraindications are recorded prior to the preparing of therapy proposals and preferably within the framework of step d).

11. System for recording and analyzing syndromes and their causes and for establishing appropriate therapy proposals with:

a) a data memory with a stored set of anamnesis questions,

b) a stored set of data relating to causes of diseases, including pathogenic and/or allergenic substances,

c) a computer with a computer program which evaluates and presents anamnesis questions according to a predeterminable set of rules,

d) an input device for the inputting of patient data and answers to the anamnesis questions,

e) a storage device for the inputted data,

f) a computer program which processes the inputted data for the purpose of creating one or more diagnoses and one or more therapy proposals and

g) an output device for the presentation of the questions, the diagnoses and/or therapy proposals

12. System according to claim 11, characterized in that the computer program is designed such that it provides test proposals to further narrow the suggested diagnoses and therapies.

13. System according to claim 11, characterized in that a storage device is provided in which all the data recorded from patients is supplied in anonymized form.

14. System according to claim 13, characterized in that the storage device with anonymized patient data is a storage device which is accessible to a specifiable circle of users.

15. System according to claim 11, characterized in that the system has an access possibility to an allergen database.

16. System according to claim 11, characterized in that the computer program has a scale valuation and combination of the scale valuations of individual answers for the analysis of the recorded data.

17. System according to claim 11, characterized in that the program has a module which carries out a comparison with recorded anamnesis data available in the system for the analysis of the recorded data.