Differential diagnosis search system, differential diagnosis search program, and differential diagnosis search method

Abstract

This system provides a differential diagnosis search system, method, and program that not only supports the diagnostic work of medical professionals, including physicians, but also allows general users to input their own symptoms and / or findings to identify possible diseases in the most optimal display order. [Solution] In the differential disease search system 0, the differential disease search device 1 comprises a database, a disease candidate identification unit, and a ranking unit. The database stores disease characteristic information that links disease information related to a disease with symptom and / or finding information related to symptoms and / or findings that occur in the disease, and disease relationship information that indicates the degree of relationship between the disease and the patient's history. The disease candidate identification unit receives input of symptom input information related to symptoms and / or findings observed in a patient suffering from a certain disease, and identifies disease candidates based on the symptom input information and disease characteristic information. The ranking unit receives input of patient history information and ranks the identified disease candidates based on the patient history information and disease relationship information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a differential disease search system, a differential disease search program, and a differential disease search method.

Background Art

[0002] Due to the influence of diversification of clinical examinations and treatments, complication of the claim business for additional medical fees, and an increase in the number of foreign patients, the man-hours required for treating one patient at the clinical site are constantly increasing, and the clinical site is extremely busy. In particular, the interview, examination, and inspection work for first-time patients who have not yet been diagnosed is complicated, and the burden and exhaustion of emergency doctors and internists who handle this are remarkable, and the number of doctors in the same department has been continuously decreasing. Therefore, it is becoming extremely difficult to maintain and improve the medical quality in making an appropriate diagnosis for patients with uncertain diagnosis and proceeding with treatment. In addition, in the conventional personalized medical treatment style by doctors, the number of patients that can be handled per unit time is limited, and due to insufficient interviews, examinations, and lack of inspections, patients who cannot receive an appropriate diagnosis and suffer disadvantages due to misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis continue to appear. Considering medical treatment from the perspective of information processing here, the process of diagnosing a disease (the process of interviewing, examining, and inspecting a patient) is all an information collection process for making a diagnosis, and the act of a doctor considering a diagnosis is the identification of a disease by comparing the collected information with the clinical picture of known diseases.

[0003] On the other hand, the identification of a disease by comparing the conventionally collected information with the disease clinical picture displays the search results of sites including relevant information with the search range being medical books, site information on the Internet, and PDFs of medical papers, etc., and it is not possible to comprehensively search for possible diseases for a certain symptom or finding. In addition, it is necessary to read the information on the site, medical books, and medical papers, and it cannot meet the needs of the medical field where rapid identification of diseases is required. In contrast, an example of a system that supports the identification of a disease for a certain symptom or finding is proposed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a system that, upon receiving symptom input information and then receiving new symptom input information, determines whether the symptom cluster information of the multiple symptom inputs is the same. If the symptom clusters are different, it identifies the common disease information among the disease information associated with each of the symptom inputs as differential diagnosis information. If the symptom cluster information is the same, it identifies all the disease information associated with each of the symptom inputs as differential diagnosis information. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-177575 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 has the drawback of limited search flexibility because it requires users to select symptoms from a pre-set list, thus failing to meet the diverse search needs of users. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 assumes the user is a physician and primarily relies on searches using medical terminology, thus limiting the users who can utilize the system. It is difficult for non-physician healthcare professionals such as nurses to use it, and it does not anticipate disease searches by general users. However, in today's clinical settings, team-based medical care is the norm, and in healthcare and nursing settings, there is a need for professionals other than physicians, such as nurses and laboratory technicians, to be able to anticipate and respond to possible diseases. Moreover, there is a problem of asymmetry in medical knowledge between patients and healthcare professionals, and there is a need for a system that allows general users to easily input their own or their family's symptoms and findings to learn about possible diseases. In addition, Patent Document 1 lacks a disease ranking function, which means that diseases with low incidence may be displayed at the top of the search results, posing a practical challenge.

[0007] In view of the above issues, the present invention aims to solve the problem of providing a technology that not only supports the diagnostic work of a wide range of medical professionals, including physicians, but also enables general users to input their own symptoms and / or findings and identify possible diseases in the most optimal display order. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a differential disease search system for searching for diseases, the differential disease search system comprising a database, a disease candidate identification unit, and a ranking unit, wherein the database stores disease information relating to a disease, and symptom and / or finding information relating to symptoms and / or findings that may occur in the disease, and disease relationship information indicating the degree of relationship between the disease and the patient's history, the disease candidate identification unit receives input of symptom input information relating to symptoms and / or findings observed in a patient who has a certain disease, identifies disease candidates based on the symptom input information and the disease characteristic information, and the ranking unit receives input of patient history information and ranks the identified disease candidates based on the patient history information and the disease relationship information.

[0009] In a more preferred form, the disease relationship information has a relationship index linked to each combination of disease risk information and disease, and the ranking unit calculates a cumulative relationship value for each disease by accumulating the relationship index corresponding to the patient history information based on the disease relationship information and the input patient history information, and ranks the disease candidates based on the cumulative relationship value.

[0010] This configuration allows for the identification of potential diseases using information related to the patient's symptoms and / or findings, and the ranking of these identified disease candidates using information related to the patient's history. This makes it easy for users to search for diseases that the patient may be suffering from.

[0011] In a more preferred form, the differential disease search system further comprises a symptom identification unit and a display processing unit, wherein the database stores disease characteristic information linking the symptom finding information with symptom detailed information of the symptoms and / or findings, the symptom identification unit identifies the symptom detailed information based on the input symptom input information, the display processing unit processes the identified symptom detailed information to display it in a selectable format, and the disease candidate identification unit identifies the symptom finding information based on the specified symptom detailed information and the disease characteristic information.

[0012] In a more preferred form, the database stores one or more symptom and / or finding images, each showing the symptoms and / or findings, as symptom details, linked to the symptom information; the symptom identification unit identifies the symptom images based on the input symptom information; the display processing unit displays the identified symptom images in a selectable format; and the disease candidate identification unit identifies the symptom information based on the designated symptom images and disease characteristic information.

[0013] In a more preferred form, the differential diagnosis search system further comprises a symptom identification unit and a display processing unit, wherein the database stores the symptom findings information and disease characteristic information linked to the site of onset, the display processing unit displays a site-specific image on which the site of onset can be specified, the symptom identification unit receives a selection input of the site of onset via the site-specific image, identifies the symptom findings information based on the selected site of onset and the disease characteristic information, and the display processing unit displays the identified symptom findings information in a selectable format.

[0014] This configuration allows the system to display information about symptoms the user may not be aware of, preventing users from missing symptoms. This enables users to identify more accurate disease candidates.

[0015] In a more preferred form, the differential diagnosis search system further comprises a display processing unit, the database storing disease-related information, the disease-related information having a hierarchical structure in which a certain disease is a higher-level disease and diseases that cause the higher-level disease are lower-level diseases, and the display processing unit displays the identified disease candidates and the lower-level diseases of the disease candidates in association.

[0016] This configuration allows for the display of diseases that are not directly linked to a specific disease but may be associated with it. This helps users recall related diseases and prevents misdiagnosis.

[0017] In a more preferred form, the differential diagnosis search system further comprises a display processing unit, the database storing disease risk information linking location information with candidate causes of onset, and the display processing unit, based on the user's past location information and the disease risk information, displays the candidate causes of onset as patient history information.

[0018] This configuration allows users to specify and display their risk of developing a disease using their past location information, and enables them to input their risk even if they have forgotten it. This allows users to identify potential diseases more accurately.

[0019] In a more preferred form, the database stores a combination of the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the onset time of symptoms and the incidence rate for each disease, and the ranking unit receives the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the onset time of symptoms as patient history information, and ranks the disease candidates using the incidence rate for each disease based on the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the onset time of symptoms.

[0020] This configuration allows users to identify potential diseases using the prevalence rates for each disease. This enables users to identify potential diseases more accurately. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] The present invention not only has the effect of assisting the diagnostic work of medical staff including doctors, but also enables general users to input their own symptoms and / or findings and identify possible diseases in the optimal display order.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] It is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system in one embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a hardware configuration diagram of the system in one embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a functional block diagram of the device in one embodiment. [Figure 4] It is an example of a disease search screen in one embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a processing flowchart of the system in one embodiment. [Figure 6] It is an example of a disease search screen in one embodiment. [Figure 7] It is an example of a disease search screen in one embodiment. <​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Further details will be provided below with reference to the attached drawings. The drawings show preferred embodiments. However, many different forms are possible and the invention is not limited to those described herein.

[0024] For example, in this embodiment, the configuration and operation of the differential diagnosis search system will be described, but similar configurations, devices, computer programs, etc., can achieve similar effects. Furthermore, the program may be stored on a recording medium or provided for download from an external server. Using this recording medium, for example, the program can be installed on a computer, thereby configuring a differential diagnosis search device and a differential diagnosis search system. Here, the recording medium on which the program is stored may be a non-transient recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0025] In this embodiment, "part" may include, for example, hardware resources implemented by a circuit in a broad sense, and information processing of software that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In this embodiment, "information" can be represented, for example, by the physical value of a signal value representing voltage or current, the high or low value of a signal value as a set of binary bits composed of 0s or 1s, or by quantum superposition (so-called qubits), and communication and calculations can be performed on a circuit in a broad sense. A circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by appropriately combining circuits, circuits, processors, and memories. That is, a circuit in a broad sense includes CPUs (Central Processing Units), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), LSIs (Large Scale Integrations), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), etc.

[0026] This invention relates to a differential diagnosis search system that searches for one or more candidate diseases that a patient may be suffering from. The invention identifies candidate diseases in a patient by receiving input of symptoms and findings from the user. The identified candidate diseases are then sorted and displayed in order of their likelihood of occurring.

[0027] In this embodiment, findings refer to the condition observed by a physician during examination and testing of a patient, and include physical findings, imaging findings, laboratory findings, and physiological function test findings. In this invention, imaging findings include findings obtained from all imaging test results such as ultrasound, CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), RI (Radio Isotope), and endoscopic examination; laboratory findings include findings obtained from specimen testing, pathological testing, and / or genetic testing; and physiological function test findings include findings obtained from electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, electromyogram, respiratory function test, etc.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, diseases that describe a pathological condition are also referred to as diseases. For example, "anemia" is a disease name that describes a pathological condition that indicates a decrease in red blood cells, and the pathological condition "anemia" is also treated as a disease. In addition, the users in this embodiment include medical professionals engaged in medical work and ordinary people with little medical knowledge, and hereafter, unless otherwise specified, these will be collectively referred to as "users".

[0029] <1. System Configuration> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system in one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the differential diagnosis search system 0 comprises a differential diagnosis search device 1 and a user terminal device 3. In this embodiment, the differential diagnosis search device 1 and the user terminal device 3 are configured to communicate via a communication network NW. In this embodiment, if the user terminal device 3 is a terminal device used by the general public, the communication network NW is an IP (Internet Protocol) network, but there are no restrictions on the type of communication protocol, and furthermore, there are no restrictions on the type or size of the network. Also, if the user terminal device 3 is a terminal device used by medical professionals, the communication network NW is a LAN (Local Area Network) or an intranet, but there are no restrictions on the size of the communication network NW.

[0030] In this embodiment, the differential diagnosis search device 1 can be a general-purpose server computer or a personal computer. The user terminal device 3 can be a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, or wearable device. Furthermore, the differential diagnosis search device 1 may be composed of multiple computers capable of sending and receiving information via a communication network NW or another network.

[0031] <1.1. Hardware Configuration of the Invention> Figure 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the differential diagnosis search system 0. As shown in Figure 2(a), the server 10 (differential diagnosis search device 1) comprises a processing unit 101, a storage unit 102, and a communication unit 103.

[0032] The processing unit 101 has one or more processors, such as a CPU, capable of executing instruction sets, and controls the entire operation process of the differential diagnosis search device 1 by executing the differential diagnosis search program, OS, and other applications according to the present invention. The memory unit 102 includes a volatile memory such as RAM capable of storing instruction sets, and a non-volatile recording medium such as an HDD or SSD capable of storing the OS and the generation program according to the present invention. The communication unit 103 has a communication interface device with the communication network NW, and performs communication control with the communication network NW to input and output information.

[0033] As shown in Figure 2(b), the terminal device 9 (user terminal device 3) comprises a processing unit 91, a storage unit 92, a communication unit 93, an input unit 94, and an output unit 95.

[0034] The processing unit 91 has one or more processors, such as a CPU, capable of executing instruction sets, and controls the entire operation process of the terminal device 9 by executing the OS and other applications. The storage unit 92 includes a volatile memory such as RAM capable of storing instruction sets, and a non-volatile recording medium such as an HDD or SSD capable of storing the OS, etc. The storage unit 92 also stores location information of the terminal device 9 from the present to a predetermined period in the past. The communication unit 93 has a communication interface device for connecting to a network and performs communication control with the communication network NW to input and output information. The input unit 94 has an input device capable of input processing, such as a keyboard or a touch panel. The output unit 95 has a display device capable of display processing, such as a display.

[0035] In this embodiment, the output unit 95 of the user terminal device 3 outputs and displays the disease search screen described later through display processing by the display processing unit of the differential disease search device 1. However, the differential disease search device 1 can also have an input unit and an output unit, and can be configured to receive input via the input unit or to output various types of data via the output unit. In this case, the differential disease search device 1 constitutes the differential disease search system 0.

[0036] <1.2. System Functional Configuration> Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the differential diagnosis search device 1 in Embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 3, the differential diagnosis search device 1 comprises a registration unit 11, a disease candidate identification unit 12, a ranking unit 13, a symptom identification unit 14, a test identification unit 15, a code issuance unit 16, a display processing unit 17, and a database 2. This represents the concrete realization of information processing by software stored in the storage unit 102 by hardware (processing unit 101).

[0037] In this embodiment, the system configuration is a so-called server-client type, where the client receives the processing results performed by the differential diagnosis search device 1 (server) in response to a request from the user terminal device 3 (client). Alternatively, it may be a so-called standalone type, where the client terminal starts the differential diagnosis search program. In this case, the user terminal device 3 may include some or all of the functional components (parts) of the differential diagnosis search device 1. For example, the user terminal device 3 may include a registration unit 11, a disease candidate identification unit 12, a ranking unit 13, a symptom identification unit 14, a test identification unit 15, a code issuance unit 16, and a display processing unit 17, and the differential diagnosis search device 1 may be a cloud storage that manages information such as basic disease information.

[0038] <1.3. Registration Section 11> The registration unit 11 stores basic disease information, disease characteristic information, related test information, disease-related information, disease risk information, disease relationship information, symptom and finding unified master, and disease risk unified master in database 2.

[0039] <1.3.1. Basic Disease Information> Disease basic information is information used to manage the diseases displayed to users. Disease basic information includes a disease ID to uniquely identify the disease, the current disease name, an integrated code, a category, the same disease name, the previous disease name, an abbreviation, the English name on which the abbreviation is based, the registration date, the modification date, the modification details, the reason for the modification, the last update date, the name of the registrant, and the approver.

[0040] Here, the current disease name is set based on disease guidelines and the ICD-10 standard disease name master, etc., using disease names that are standardly used in each era. The integrated code is a global standard code, and the WHO's ICD-10 or ICD-11 disease codes are set. The same disease name is registered when there are multiple names for the same disease.

[0041] In this embodiment, the disease ID is an identification information specific to this system, but an integrated code may also be used.

[0042] <1.3.2. Disease Characteristics Information> Disease characteristic information is master data concerning the onset characteristics of each disease. This information includes disease information, symptom findings, and evidence information. Disease information includes disease ID, onset mode, incidence rate, infectivity information, genetic information, and age distribution of affected individuals. Note that disease information may also include basic disease information.

[0043] Here, the mode of onset refers to the way the disease develops, and is described as acute, subacute, chronic, or prolonged. The incidence rate is set as the incidence rate per capita, age-specific incidence rate (combination of age and incidence rate for each disease), regional incidence rate (combination of region and incidence rate for each disease), sex-specific incidence rate (combination of sex and incidence rate for each disease), and seasonal incidence rate (combination of season or time of year and incidence rate for each disease). Infectivity information is set as whether or not the disease is infectious and the mode of transmission. Genetic information is set as whether or not the disease is hereditary and the mode of inheritance. Evidence information is information that serves as the basis for the symptom findings presented by the disease, and is registered as case reports, literature, etc.

[0044] Symptom and finding information refers to information about symptoms and / or findings that may occur in a disease. For each disease, symptom and finding information is registered, including subjective symptoms, physical findings including vital signs, imaging findings, pathological findings, physiological function test findings, and laboratory data.

[0045] Subjective symptoms and physical findings are information about the symptoms observed in the patient and are registered in conjunction with detailed symptom information related to the symptoms and / or findings. Here, detailed symptom information includes major categories such as mode of onset, symptom intensity, characteristics, aggravating factors, relieving factors, accompanying symptoms, and preceding symptoms, with detailed symptom items corresponding to subjective symptoms and physical findings set for each major category. In addition, symptom findings images, which are images taken of the symptoms that are presenting, are registered as detailed symptom information. Furthermore, subjective symptoms and physical findings may also be registered in conjunction with the site where the symptoms are observed.

[0046] The test data includes data commonly obtained in clinical settings, such as complete blood count, biochemical tests, urinalysis, and blood gas analysis results.

[0047] <1.3.3. Related Test Information> Related test information refers to information about tests used to identify a disease. This related test information includes a test ID, test name, test items, and disease ID to uniquely identify the test.

[0048] <1.3.4. Disease-related information> Disease-related information is information that shows the relationships between diseases. Multiple diseases with a hierarchical structure are registered as disease-related information. In this embodiment, one or more diseases are registered at each hierarchical level. Furthermore, in the following description, diseases at higher levels of the hierarchical structure are referred to as "higher-level diseases," and diseases that cause higher-level diseases, or detailed classification diseases that further classify higher-level diseases, are referred to as "lower-level diseases." Also, each higher-level disease may have one or more hierarchical levels of lower-level diseases. Note that lower-level diseases that are two or more levels apart may be indirect causes of higher-level diseases and may coexist with them.

[0049] <1.3.5. Information on the risk of developing the disease> Disease risk information refers to information about the causes of disease onset. This information includes registered risk medication information, preceding risk events, preceding risk symptoms, pre-existing conditions, medical history, medical procedures, lifestyle, and occupation.

[0050] Risk drug information refers to information about drugs that increase the risk of developing each disease, and is registered by linking combinations of multiple drugs with disease IDs.

[0051] Prior risk event information refers to information about actions taken prior to the onset of a disease, and is registered in association with the candidate cause of onset and the disease ID. In this embodiment, the candidate cause of onset and the location information where the action took place are also registered in association with each other.

[0052] Preceding risk symptom information is information about preceding symptoms that existed before the onset of the disease being searched for. The preceding symptoms and disease IDs are registered in association. For example, symptoms of viral infections such as "upper respiratory tract infection" are registered in association with the disease "Guillain-Barré syndrome."

[0053] Risk-related pre-existing condition information is information about pre-existing conditions (underlying diseases) that may be involved in the onset of a disease, and the disease IDs of the underlying disease and the disease being searched are registered in association. Risk-related medical history information is information about past diseases that may be involved in the onset of a disease, and the disease IDs of diseases that have occurred in the past and have since been cured, and the disease IDs of the disease being searched are registered in association.

[0054] Risk medical procedure information is information about medical procedures performed that are involved in the onset of a disease, and the medical procedure and disease ID are registered in association. Medical procedures can include surgical history and implants in the body; for example, the surgical procedure of "gastrostomy" is registered in association with "peritonitis." Lifestyle information is information about lifestyle habits that are involved in the onset of a disease, and long-term habitual actions and disease IDs are registered in association. For example, habitual actions such as "avoiding sun exposure" are registered in association with "vitamin D deficiency."

[0055] Risk occupational information is information about occupations that are involved in the onset of a disease, and the occupation and disease ID are registered in a linked manner. For example, occupational information for "painting industry" is registered in a linked manner to "toluene poisoning."

[0056] <1.3.6. Disease-Related Information> Disease relationship information is master data that shows the degree of relationship between a disease and its risk of onset. For each combination of disease and risk of onset information to be searched, a relationship index is registered. For example, if the disease is "influenza infection," the risk drug information, which is risk of onset, will have a relationship index of 10 for "use of anticancer drugs," a relationship index of 100 for "use of immunosuppressants," and a relationship index of 1 for "no use of anticancer drugs or immunosuppressants."

[0057] <1.3.7. Standardized Symptom Findings Master> The symptom and / or finding unified master is a master database for standardizing and managing the notation of symptom input information related to symptoms and / or findings entered by users. The symptom and finding unified master registers multiple possible symptom input entries for each symptom and finding information.

[0058] <1.3.8. Unified Risk Master Table> The disease risk unification master is a master database used to standardize and manage the notation of patient history information entered by users. For each disease risk information entry, the disease risk unification master registers multiple patient history entries that may be entered by users.

[0059] <1.4. Disease Candidate Identification Section 12> The disease candidate identification unit 12 receives input patient-related information concerning a patient suffering from a certain disease and identifies disease candidates. The disease candidate identification unit 12 receives input patient-related information including symptom input information relating to symptoms and / or findings observed in the patient, and identifies disease candidates based on the symptom input information and disease characteristic information.

[0060] <1.5. Ranking Section 13> The ranking unit 13 receives input of patient-related information concerning a patient suffering from a certain disease and ranks the disease candidates. The ranking unit 13 also receives input of patient-related information, including patient history information, and ranks the disease candidates based on said patient history information.

[0061] <1.6.Symptom identification section 14> The symptom identification unit 14 identifies symptoms and / or findings related to the symptom input information entered by the user. Based on the symptom input information, the symptom identification unit 14 identifies detailed symptom information. The symptom identification unit 14 also identifies symptom finding images as detailed symptom information based on the symptom input information. Furthermore, the symptom identification unit 14 accepts the selection input of the affected area specified via the area specification image described later, and identifies symptom finding information based on the affected area.

[0062] <1.7. Inspection Specific Department 15> The test identification unit 15 identifies tests to identify the disease the patient has from the identified candidate diseases. Based on the identified candidate diseases and related test information, the test identification unit 15 identifies test information to identify the disease.

[0063] <1.8. Code Issuance Section 16> The code issuing unit 16 issues codes for sharing identified information with others. The code issuing unit 16 also issues codes for displaying identified disease candidates and test information.

[0064] <1.9. Display Processing Unit 17> The display processing unit 17 processes the disease search screen to be displayed to the user and displays the display processing results to the user terminal device 3. Figure 4 shows an example of the disease search screen displayed to the user terminal device 3.

[0065] <2. Example of the disease search screen display> The disease search screen W has an input section W1 (long dashed line in the illustrated example) for inputting patient-related information and a display section W2 (two-dot dashed line in the illustrated example) for displaying information based on the input of patient-related information. The input section W1 has a symptom / finding input section W1a (short dashed line in the illustrated example) for receiving symptom input information related to symptoms and / or findings observed in the patient, and a history input section W1b (one-dot dashed line in the illustrated example) for receiving patient history information.

[0066] In the illustrated example, the symptom and findings input section W1a has multiple areas that accept and display input for subjective symptoms and physical findings, imaging findings, physiological function test findings, pathological findings, and laboratory findings, as well as an icon that displays an area for inputting the onset time of symptoms. The medical history input section W1b has multiple areas that accept and display input for past medical history, chronic illnesses, medications, medical procedures (in the illustrated example, "surgical history" and "implants"), preceding events, preceding symptoms (in the illustrated example, "allergy history"), occupation, lifestyle, and basic disease information for diseases affecting family members (in the illustrated example, "family history"). The medical history input section W1b also has areas that accept input for the patient's age, sex, and place of residence. The basic disease information for diseases affecting family members may be used as information to identify the disease.

[0067] In this embodiment, the input unit W1 accepts text data input from the user as symptom input information and patient history information, and the input data is displayed in each area. In the area where subjective symptoms and physical findings are input, symptom and finding information identified by the operation of the display unit W2 (described later) is identified and displayed as symptom input information. In the area where patient history information is input, disease risk information identified by the operation of the display unit W2 (described later) is identified and displayed as patient history information.

[0068] Furthermore, in the area where image findings are input in this embodiment, the user who has confirmed the image findings inputs text data of the image findings as symptom input information, and displays it. Alternatively, text data may be acquired using a well-known image recognition AI that identifies symptoms from images in which symptoms and / or findings are captured and outputs text data of the symptoms, and this text data may be identified and displayed as symptom input information. In addition, instead of an image recognition AI, text data of symptoms may be acquired using a correspondence table that associates images from papers or medical journals with text data of symptoms.

[0069] Furthermore, in the area where the test findings are entered in this embodiment, the user who has confirmed the test data enters the text data of the test findings as symptom input information and displays it. Alternatively, the test findings may be read from the test data using well-known OCR technology, and the text data of the test findings may be identified and displayed as symptom input information. The symptom input information in the test findings is entered or identified based on the standard values ​​of the test values ​​and the results of comparing the test data. For example, if the test data is "30000 ≤ white blood cell count", then "abnormal increase in white blood cell count" is entered or identified as symptom input information.

[0070] Furthermore, in the area of ​​the patient history input unit W1b in this embodiment that accepts input of drug input information, drug input information may be read from drug-related data such as prescriptions using well-known OCR technology, and the text data of said drug input information may be identified and displayed as patient history information. In addition, by linking with an external drug information management system, drug input information obtained from an external source may be identified and displayed as patient history information.

[0071] <3. Disease Search Processing Flow> Next, with reference to Figures 5-13, a method for searching for differential diagnoses using the differential diagnosis search system 0 will be described. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the process from when the display unit W2 is displayed in response to the operation in the input unit W1 of the disease search screen W in Figure 4, until the identified disease candidates are finally displayed.

[0072] <3.1. Acceptance of Symptom Input Information> In step S1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "SX" instead of "step SX"), the disease candidate identification unit 12 receives patient-related information, including symptom input information. In this embodiment, the disease candidate identification unit 12 receives patient-related information, including symptom input information (subjective symptoms and physical findings, imaging findings, pathological findings, and laboratory findings), and basic disease information of diseases that affect family members, as information for identifying disease candidates.

[0073] In this embodiment, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies symptom input information via a symptom finding image. Specifically, the display processing unit 17 receives an instruction from the user to display a site specification image on which the site of onset can be specified, and processes the site specification image for display. The symptom identification unit 14 receives the selection input of the site of onset via the displayed site specification image, and identifies symptom finding information based on the selected site of onset and the disease characteristic information stored in the database 2. The display processing unit 17 processes the identified symptom finding information for display and makes the display processing result available for user terminal device 3 via the display unit W2. The disease candidate identification unit 12 then identifies the specified symptom finding information as symptom input information.

[0074] Furthermore, based on the specified symptom findings information, symptom findings images related to the symptom findings information are displayed in a selectable format, and the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies symptom input information based on the specified symptom findings images. Specifically, the symptom identification unit 14 identifies one or more symptom findings images associated with the specified symptom findings information based on the disease characteristic information, the display processing unit 17 processes the identified symptom findings images for display, and displays the display processing results in a selectable format on the display unit W2 for the user terminal device 3. The disease candidate identification unit 12 then identifies symptom findings information associated with the specified symptom findings images based on the disease characteristic information and identifies this symptom findings information as symptom input information.

[0075] Figures 6-7 show examples of screens displayed on the user terminal device 3 for selecting the affected area and inputting symptom information. Figure 6 is an example of a screen where the display unit W2 displays the area-specific image after receiving a command (pressing an icon) from the user to display the area-specific image. In the illustrated example, the area-specific images displayed are a whole-body image, an oral cavity image, and hand and foot images. Ear, nose, and throat images or detailed images may also be displayed.

[0076] Figure 7 is an example of a screen displayed when a specific area image (1) is selected in Figure 6. In the example shown, the screen displayed when an oral cavity image is selected in Figure 6 is shown. When the user selects an area of ​​symptom onset from the displayed oral cavity images, several candidate symptom findings (e.g., "swollen tonsils" in the example) associated with that area are displayed in the display unit W2 for selection. Then, when the symptom findings information that the patient experiences is selected from among the multiple candidate symptom findings, that symptom finding information is identified as symptom input information and displayed in the area of ​​the input unit W1 for inputting subjective symptoms and physical findings. In addition, several symptom finding images associated with the selected symptom finding information are displayed in the display unit W2 for selection, and the symptom finding information associated with the selected symptom finding information is identified as symptom input information, and the identified symptom input information is displayed in the area of ​​the input unit W1 for inputting image findings.

[0077] In addition, as another form of receiving symptom input information via symptom image input, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies the symptom input information via the symptom image displayed based on the symptom input information entered by the user. Specifically, the symptom identification unit 14 identifies the symptom information from the entered symptom input information based on the unified symptom master, and identifies one or more symptom image from the symptom information based on the symptom information and disease characteristic information. The display processing unit 17 processes the identified symptom image for display and displays the display processing result on the display unit W2 so that it can be specified to the user terminal device 3. The disease candidate identification unit 12 then identifies the symptom information associated with the specified symptom image based on the disease characteristic information and identifies the symptom information as symptom input information.

[0078] Figure 8 shows an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal device 3, where symptom findings images are displayed based on the entered symptom input information. In the illustrated example, multiple symptom findings images linked to symptom findings information corresponding to "red urine," which was entered as symptom input information, are displayed on the display unit W2. When the patient selects and inputs a symptom finding image that corresponds to a symptom or finding, the symptom finding information linked to that symptom finding image is identified as symptom input information, and the identified symptom input information is displayed in the area of ​​the input unit W1 for inputting subjective symptoms and physical findings (in the illustrated example, "brown urine").

[0079] In this embodiment, symptom input information and symptom finding information are linked, and symptom finding information and symptom finding images are linked, thereby identifying symptom finding information based on symptom input information, identifying images based on the symptom finding information, and identifying symptom finding information based on the symptom finding images. Alternatively, symptom input information and symptom finding images may be linked, and symptom finding information and symptom finding images may be linked, allowing for the direct identification of symptom finding images from symptom input information, and the identification of symptom finding information based on the symptom finding images.

[0080] Furthermore, if the user is a medical professional, the disease candidate identification unit 12 may accept detailed symptom input based on the entered symptom input information and identify the detailed symptoms as symptom input information. Specifically, the symptom identification unit 14 identifies symptom finding information from the symptom input information based on the entered symptom input information and the unified symptom finding master, and identifies the symptom detailed information items associated with the symptom finding information based on the symptom finding information and disease characteristic information. The display processing unit 17 displays the identified symptom detailed information items and makes the display processing results available to the user terminal device 3 via the display unit W2. The disease candidate identification unit 12 then identifies the symptom finding information associated with the specified symptom detailed information items based on the specified symptom detailed information items and disease characteristic information, and identifies the symptom finding information as symptom input information. Even if the user is a general user, the disease candidate identification unit 12 may accept detailed symptom input based on the entered symptom input information and identify the detailed symptoms as symptom input information.

[0081] Figure 9 shows an example of a screen displayed on the medical professional's user terminal device 3, which identifies symptom input information based on detailed symptom information. In the example shown, detailed symptom information associated with "cough," entered by the medical professional, is displayed on the display unit W2, and the detailed symptom items associated with "cough" are displayed on the display unit W2 in a selectable format. Then, by accepting the selection of symptom findings observed in the patient from among the displayed detailed symptom items, those symptom findings are identified as symptom input information.

[0082] In this embodiment, symptom input information and symptom findings information are linked, and symptom findings information and symptom details information are linked, thereby identifying symptom findings information based on symptom input information, identifying symptom details information based on the symptom findings information, and identifying symptom findings information based on the symptom details information. Alternatively, symptom input information and symptom details information may be linked, and symptom findings information and symptom details information may be linked, allowing for the direct identification of symptom details information from the symptom input information, and identifying symptom findings information based on the symptom details information.

[0083] With the above steps completed, the input of symptom information for identifying potential diseases is finished, and then the process of inputting information for ranking the potential diseases is executed.

[0084] <3.2. Receiving patient history information> In S2, the ranking unit 13 accepts input of patient history information. In this embodiment, the ranking unit 13 accepts input of the patient's residential area, age, sex, onset time of symptoms, medical history input information, chronic illness input information, medication input information, medical procedure input information, preceding event input information, preceding symptom input information, occupation input information, lifestyle input information, and basic disease information of diseases that family members suffer from.

[0085] Specifically, the ranking unit 13 receives input from the user to select a candidate cause of onset from the displayed list, and identifies patient history information based on the candidate cause of onset. More specifically, when the display processing unit 17 receives input to activate each area corresponding to risk medical history information, risk chronic disease information, risk medication information, risk medical procedure information, preceding risk symptom information, risk occupation information, and risk lifestyle information, it processes and displays a list of candidate causes of onset corresponding to each area, and displays the display processing results on the display unit W2 so that the user terminal device 3 can specify them. The ranking unit 13 then identifies the selected candidate cause of onset as patient history information. The display processing unit 17 displays the identified patient history information in each area.

[0086] Furthermore, when the ranking unit 13 receives prior event input information as patient history information, it identifies patient history information based on the candidate causes of onset displayed using the user's past behavioral history and onset risk information. Specifically, the display processing unit 17 obtains the user's location information from the storage unit 92 from the present to a predetermined period in the past, processes the candidate causes of onset based on the location information and the prior risk event information, and displays the display processing results on the display unit W2 so that the user terminal device 3 can specify them. The ranking unit 13 then identifies the specified candidate cause of onset as patient history information.

[0087] Figure 10 shows an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal device 3 for receiving input information on preceding events. In the example shown, when the user gives an instruction (by pressing an icon) to display candidate causes of onset related to the preceding risk event information, the display unit W2 displays the candidate causes of onset for each past date and location information. When a candidate cause of onset is specified, the specified candidate cause of onset is identified as patient history information and displayed in the area for inputting preceding event information.

[0088] Furthermore, when the ranking unit 13 accepts input of the onset time of symptoms as patient history information, it accepts input of the onset time for each symptom input information. Specifically, when the display processing unit 17 receives an instruction to display a screen for inputting the onset time of symptoms (by pressing an icon), it processes a screen for inputting the appearance date and disappearance date as the onset time for each symptom and / or finding that has been entered or identified as symptom input information. The ranking unit 13 then accepts the appearance date and disappearance date for each symptom and / or finding as the onset time.

[0089] Figure 11 shows an example of the screen displayed on the user terminal device 3 for inputting the onset date. In the example shown, the entered onset date is displayed for each symptom and / or finding entered or identified as symptom input information, and the onset date can be entered by pressing the "Edit" button or "Input from Calendar".

[0090] If the ranking unit 13 does not accept input regarding the onset time, it will determine the onset time based on the time information (month and day information) when the disease candidate search process was performed.

[0091] As described above, once information is entered in S1 and S2 and the "Search" button on the search results screen is pressed, the following process will be executed. Alternatively, the following process may be executed each time information is entered in S1 and S2.

[0092] <3.3. Identification of Candidate Diseases> In S3, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies a disease candidate. In this embodiment, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies a disease candidate based on symptom input information and disease characteristic information. The disease candidate identification unit 12 also identifies a disease candidate that the patient is suffering from based on symptom input information, a unified symptom finding master, and disease characteristic information.

[0093] Specifically, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies the symptom input information identified in S1 as symptom finding information. The disease candidate identification unit 12 also identifies the symptom finding information corresponding to the symptom input information based on the symptom input information and the unified symptom finding master entered by the user. Then, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies the disease candidate corresponding to the symptom finding information based on the identified symptom finding information and disease characteristic information.

[0094] Furthermore, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies disease candidates based on the basic disease information and disease characteristic information of the disease that the family member has contracted. In this embodiment, the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies diseases that are genetically related to the disease the family member has contracted as disease candidates, based on the genetic information of the basic disease information and disease characteristic information of the disease that the family member has contracted.

[0095] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when information relating to symptoms and / or findings caused by the coexistence of multiple diseases is input, a combination of candidate diseases can be identified. Specifically, database 2 stores combinations of candidate diseases consisting of two or more diseases linked to symptom and finding information, and when the disease candidate identification unit 12 receives symptom input information, it identifies a combination of candidate diseases along with a single candidate disease.

[0096] In a preferred configuration, the disease candidate identification unit 12 may identify disease candidates based on a timeline of the onset times of each entered symptom. Specifically, disease symptom pattern information linked to symptom onset patterns and diseases is registered, and the disease candidate identification unit 12 identifies disease candidates based on the entered onset times and disease symptom pattern information.

[0097] <3.4. Ranking of Candidate Diseases> In S4, the ranking unit 13 ranks the candidate diseases that the patient may be affected by. In this embodiment, the ranking unit 13 ranks the candidate diseases identified in S3 based on patient history information, a unified risk master, and disease relationship information. The ranking unit 13 also ranks the candidate diseases based on patient history information and disease relationship information.

[0098] Specifically, the ranking unit 13 identifies disease risk information corresponding to the input patient history information and disease risk unified master. The ranking unit 13 also identifies the patient history information identified in S2 as disease risk information. Based on the identified disease risk information and disease relationship information, the ranking unit 13 identifies a relationship index corresponding to the combination of disease and disease risk information. Then, for each disease, the ranking unit 13 calculates a cumulative relationship value by accumulating (raising or adding) the identified relationship index, and ranks the disease candidates based on the cumulative relationship value. For example, the ranking unit 13 ranks the disease candidates higher in order of their cumulative relationship value.

[0099] Furthermore, the ranking unit 13 ranks disease candidates based on the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the time of symptom onset from the input patient history information. Specifically, the ranking unit 13 identifies the incidence rate for each disease based on the age-specific incidence rate, regional incidence rate, sex-specific incidence rate, and time-specific incidence rate of disease characteristic information stored in the database 2, as well as the residential area, age, sex, and / or time of symptom onset entered as patient history information. The ranking unit 13 then ranks the disease candidates using the incidence rate in addition to the cumulative relationship value. For example, the ranking unit 13 ranks disease candidates higher in the order in which the value obtained by multiplying the cumulative relationship value by the incidence rate is highest.

[0100] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ranking unit 13 ranks disease candidates based on the onset time of the patient's medical history information and the patient's residential area. Specifically, the database 2 stores weather-specific incidence rates (combinations of weather and incidence rates for each disease), and the ranking unit 13 obtains weather information from the database 2 or an external database based on the onset time of the symptoms and the residential area, and identifies the incidence rate for each disease based on the weather information and weather-specific incidence rates. For example, there are heatstroke, which correlates with temperature and humidity, and bronchial asthma and cough variant asthma, which correlate with changes in atmospheric pressure. The ranking unit 13 ranks the disease candidates higher in descending order of the value obtained by multiplying the identified incidence rate by the cumulative relationship value.

[0101] <3.5. Displaying Candidate Diseases> In S5, the display processing unit processes the identified disease candidates for display. In this embodiment, the display processing unit 17 processes the disease candidates identified in S3 based on the ranking determined in S4, and displays the display processing results to the user terminal device 3. For example, the display processing unit 17 displays the ranking for each identified disease candidate. It also displays the disease candidates at the top of the screen in order of highest ranking. The display processing unit 17 may also display the cumulative relationship value along with the ranking.

[0102] Furthermore, the display processing unit 17 processes and displays diseases associated with the identified disease candidate. Specifically, the display processing unit 17 identifies the first subordinate disease associated with the disease candidate based on disease-related information and the identified disease candidate, and processes and displays the first subordinate disease. If a second subordinate disease associated with the identified subordinate disease is stored, the display processing unit 17 processes and displays the second subordinate disease. Finally, the display processing unit 17 identifies and processes and displays all subordinate diseases associated with the identified disease candidate.

[0103] Figure 12 shows an example of a screen displaying identified disease candidates and their associated sub-diseases. In the example, multiple first-order sub-diseases associated with "myocardial ischemia," identified as a disease candidate, are displayed; multiple second-order sub-diseases associated with "severe anemia" among the first-order sub-diseases are displayed; and multiple third-order sub-diseases associated with "chronic bleeding" among the second-order sub-diseases are displayed. Furthermore, pressing the icon in the lower right of display unit W2 displays even more sub-diseases on the same screen. Additionally, by accepting selection of a displayed disease, the screen displays the basic disease information and disease characteristic information for that disease.

[0104] In this embodiment, the display processing unit 17 also classifies and displays the identified disease. Specifically, the display processing unit 17 classifies and displays the subordinate diseases associated with the identified disease candidate based on the category of basic disease information. For example, if the identified disease is "acute liver injury," then "liver abscess" is displayed as the first subordinate disease classified under "bacterial infection," and "bacterial liver abscess" is displayed as the second subordinate disease. In addition, "common bile duct stones" and "bile duct cancer" are displayed as the first subordinate diseases classified under "biliary obstruction."

[0105] Furthermore, if a combination of disease candidates has been identified in S3, the display processing unit 17 displays the combination of disease candidates for each number of disease candidates that make up the combination of disease candidates.

[0106] <3.6. Display Processing of Inspection Information> In S6, the display processing unit 17 processes the test information for display. In this embodiment, the test identification unit 15 identifies the test information corresponding to the disease candidate identified in S3, based on the disease candidate and related test information. The display processing unit 17 then processes the test information for display and displays the display processing result to the user terminal device 3.

[0107] Figure 13 shows an example of the screen displaying test information. In the example, for each of the disease candidates identified—"scrub typhus," "Japanese spotted fever," "cat scratch disease," and "malignant disease"—the name of the test used to identify that disease is displayed.

[0108] <3.7. Issuing Codes> In S7, the code issuing unit 16 issues codes for disease candidates and related test information. In this embodiment, the code issuing unit 16 issues a QR code (registered trademark) for each disease candidate and test information as the code. The code issuing unit 16 then outputs a paper medium to which the QR code is attached.

[0109] As described above, by executing processes S1 to S7, disease candidates are identified and ranked, allowing the user to easily understand which disease the patient is suffering from. Furthermore, based on the conclusion that the disease onset mechanism "arises from people's living environment, behavior, and genetic factors," accurate disease differentiation requires not only symptoms and findings, but also information such as what the person did, what they ate, what medications they usually use, the health status of their family members, and what kind of work they do. This invention enables disease differentiation that takes such information into account. In addition, by making symptom input information text input, this invention allows users to input information with a high degree of freedom. Furthermore, by storing a master that converts the input symptom information into a unified expression, this invention can unify the expression without relying on conversion by natural language processing, and can ensure the reliability of the expression conversion. In addition, by registering such a master, this invention allows the computer to unify the expression of the input text data without natural language processing, which speeds up the processing related to the identification of symptom and finding information and reduces the load. Furthermore, this invention can be used even by ordinary people with little medical knowledge, and by reducing the financial, time, and physical burden on patients, it can contribute to national healthcare cost containment from a macro perspective. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0110] 0: Differential Diagnosis Search System 1: Differential diagnosis search device 1 2: Database 3: User terminal device 9: Terminal device 91: Processing Unit 92: Storage section 93: Communications Department 94: Input section 95: Output section 10: Server 101: Processing Unit 102: Storage section 103: Communications Department 11: Registration Department 12: Disease Candidate Identification Department 13: Ranking Section 14:Symptom identification part 15: Inspection and Specialization Department 16: Code Issuance Department 17: Display Processing Unit W: Disease search screen W1: Input section W1a: Symptom and Findings Input Section W1b: Career entry section W2:Display part

Claims

1. A differential diagnosis search system for searching for diseases, The differential diagnosis search system comprises a database, a disease candidate identification unit, and a ranking unit. The aforementioned database stores disease characteristic information that links disease information related to the disease, and symptom and / or finding information related to the symptoms and / or findings that may occur in the disease, and disease relationship information that shows the degree of relationship between the disease and the patient's history. The disease candidate identification unit receives input of symptom input information relating to symptoms and / or findings observed in a patient suffering from a certain disease, and identifies disease candidates based on the symptom input information and the disease characteristic information. The ranking unit is a differential diagnosis search system that receives patient history information and ranks the identified disease candidates based on the patient history information and the disease relationship information.

2. The aforementioned disease relationship information has a relationship index linked to each combination of disease risk information and disease. The differential disease search system according to claim 1, wherein the ranking unit calculates a cumulative relationship value for each disease by accumulating the relationship index corresponding to the patient history information based on the disease relationship information and the input patient history information, and ranks the disease candidates based on the cumulative relationship value.

3. The differential diagnosis search system further comprises a symptom identification unit and a display processing unit, The aforementioned database stores disease characteristic information that links the symptom and / or symptom details of the symptoms and / or findings. The symptom identification unit identifies the symptom details based on the input symptom input information, The display processing unit processes the identified symptom details to display them in a way that allows them to be specified. The differential disease search system according to claim 1, wherein the disease candidate identification unit identifies the symptom findings information based on the specified symptom details and disease characteristic information.

4. The database stores, as detailed symptom information, one or more images of symptoms and / or findings, linked to the symptom information. The symptom identification unit identifies the symptom finding image based on the input symptom input information, The display processing unit processes the identified symptom finding image to display it in a selectable format. The differential disease search system according to claim 3, wherein the disease candidate identification unit identifies the symptom findings information based on the designated symptom finding image and the disease characteristic information.

5. The differential diagnosis search system further comprises a symptom identification unit and a display processing unit, The aforementioned database stores disease characteristic information linked to the symptom findings and the site of onset. The display processing unit processes and displays a site-specific image that allows the site of onset to be specified. The symptom identification unit receives the selection input of the affected area via the area-specific image, and identifies the symptom findings information based on the selected affected area and the disease characteristic information. The differential disease search system according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit processes the identified symptom and finding information to display it in a way that allows for selection.

6. The aforementioned differential diagnosis search system further comprises a display processing unit, The aforementioned database stores disease-related information, The aforementioned disease-related information has a hierarchical structure in which a certain disease is considered a higher-level disease, and diseases that cause the higher-level disease are considered lower-level diseases. The differential disease search system according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit processes the identified disease candidate and the sub-diseases of the disease candidate in association with each other.

7. The aforementioned differential diagnosis search system further comprises a display processing unit, The aforementioned database stores disease risk information that links location information with potential causes of disease, The differential disease search system according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit processes the display of candidate causes of onset as patient history information based on the user's past location information and the onset risk information.

8. The aforementioned database stores, for each disease, a combination of the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the time of symptom onset, and the incidence rate. The differential disease search system according to claim 1, wherein the ranking unit receives input of the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the time of symptom onset as patient history information, and ranks the disease candidates using the incidence rate for each disease based on the patient's residential area, age, sex, and / or the time of symptom onset.

9. A differential diagnosis search program for searching for diseases, The differential diagnosis search program uses a computer to function as a database, a disease candidate identification unit, and a ranking unit. The aforementioned database stores disease characteristic information that links disease information related to the disease, and symptom and / or finding information related to the symptoms and / or findings that may occur in the disease, and disease relationship information that shows the degree of relationship between the disease and the patient's history. The disease candidate identification unit receives input of symptom input information relating to symptoms and / or findings observed in a patient suffering from a certain disease, and identifies disease candidates based on the symptom input information and the disease characteristic information. The ranking unit is a differential diagnosis search program that receives patient history information and ranks the identified disease candidates based on the patient history information and the disease relationship information.

10. A differential diagnosis search method for searching for diseases, Computers A process for storing disease characteristic information that links disease information related to a disease, and symptom and / or finding information related to symptoms and / or findings that may occur in the disease, and disease relationship information that shows the degree of relationship between the disease and the patient's history, Information relating to a patient suffering from a certain disease, including receiving input information on symptoms and / or findings observed in the patient, and a process for identifying disease candidates based on the input information on symptoms and / or disease characteristics. A differential diagnosis search method that includes receiving patient history information and performing a process of ranking identified disease candidates based on the patient history information and the disease relationship information.

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