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Computer Diagnosis from Tests of Thyroid Function

Division of Nuclear Medicine, University of Arkansas Medical Center Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

A digital computer program has been written to derive the most probable diagnosis of thyroid function, based only on the numerical results of technical tests. Test results are assumed to be distributed normally or lognormally. This program supplements, but does not duplicate, methods described by other workers who have based the diagnosis on the presence or absence of clinical signs and symptoms and upon "yes/no" rather than continuously distributed test results. The computations give full weight to tests of independent types, but those of a similar nature (expected to be highly correlated) are combined and considered as one test for processing. Input may be processed or unprocessed observations; if unprocessed, a test report is printed out as well as the diagnostic report. Separate diagnostic reports are produced for groups of tests that are spaced more than 6 weeks apart, and account is taken of the effects of prior medication, thyroidectomy or ¹³¹I therapy.

Received March 30, 1970.