Computer Algoirthms Could Aid Schizophrenia Diagnoses

the Psychiatry Advisor take:

Computer algorithms, which are most often used in problem solving, may also be useful for medical diagnostics in psychiatry, especially with respect to schizophrenia.

Pawan Kumar Singh, PhD, and Ram Sarkar, PhD, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, at Jadavpur University, in West Bengal, India, say that instead of a psychiatric examination that is the standard for diagnosis of schizophrenia, a computer program that can identify the onset of different symptoms could lead to earlier treatment of the condition.

Artificial intelligence computer programs that solve problems by bringing to bear a body of knowledge about specific tasks are known as knowledge-based or expert systems (ES). An ES comprises two main components: a knowledge base containing facts from a particular field and a reasoning, or inference, engine that uses logical relations to process inputs by working with the information in the knowledge base.

Initial studies involving the program helped process reported and identified symptoms, such as delusions, hallucinations, compulsions, poverty of speech, catatonia, and inability to cope with minor problems, the researchers reported in the International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications.

However, the researchers caution an algorithm would not replace the opinion of a clinicians when it comes to a diagnosis.