Medical Diagnosis Support Apparatus with Influence Rate Calculation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing medical diagnosis support apparatuses generate interpretation report sentences automatically but fail to explain the derivation process, making it difficult for primary doctors to understand the conclusion reached.

Innovation Solution

A medical diagnosis support apparatus that acquires medical information, infers diagnosis names based on input data, calculates the influence rate of each input information, and creates report sentences that include the inference result and the grounds of the inference, allowing for transparent and understandable reports.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If automatic report sentence creation is implemented using inference results, then productivity is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because primary doctors cannot understand the derivation process

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereport creation efficiencyVSAvoidunderstandability for primary doctor
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an influence rate calculation unit that acts as an intermediary between the inference unit and the report creation unit. This unit calculates and quantifies the contribution of each input information to the inference result, providing a transparent explanation mechanism that bridges the gap between automated processing and human understanding.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by providing influence rate information back to the report creation process. This feedback loop allows the system to automatically adjust report sentences based on which input factors most influenced the diagnosis, ensuring that the generated reports include explanatory content that reflects the actual reasoning process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Ease of operation

If detailed explanation of inference process is added to report sentences, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveunderstandability for primary doctorVSAvoidsystem structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the report creation process into distinct functional units: an acquisition unit for input information, an inference unit for diagnosis, a calculation unit for influence rates, and a creation unit for report sentences. This segmentation allows each unit to perform a specific function, making the overall system easier to manage and understand despite its complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The influence rate calculation unit automatically calculates the contribution of each input factor without requiring manual intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously generating explanatory content based on the calculated influence rates, reducing the need for complex manual configuration or intervention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Loss of information

If influence rate calculation is implemented, then loss of information is reduced, but use of energy increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation about derivation processVSAvoidcomputational energy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by calculating influence rates selectively for the most important input factors rather than exhaustively analyzing all possible inputs. This approach provides sufficient explanatory information to improve understandability while avoiding the excessive computational energy that would be required to analyze every possible factor in detail.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS10282671B2Medical diagnosis support apparatus and method of controlling the same
Publication Date: 2019.05.07 CANON KK
  • US10282671B2 patent drawing
  • US10282671B2 patent drawing
  • US10282671B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A medical diagnosis support apparatus is provided. In the medical diagnosis support apparatus, an acquisition unit acquires medical information associated with a diagnosis target as input information. An inference unit infers a diagnosis name of the diagnosis target based on the acquired input information. A calculation unit calculates the influence rate of each input information with respect to each inference. A creation unit creates a report sentence based on the calculated influence rate.