Heart Failure Diagnosis Using Select Health Indicators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for diagnosing and monitoring heart failure are complex, costly, and require significant expertise, making it difficult for regular healthcare professionals to diagnose and monitor heart failure patients, especially in isolated areas or developing countries where cardiologists are scarce.
Innovation Solution
A computer-aided diagnosis and monitoring system using a select set of health indicators, including fatigue level, orthopnea, dyspnea, and oxygen saturation, which are simple to measure and predictive of heart failure, allowing for accurate classification without the need for extensive laboratory tests or expert examinations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a comprehensive set of health indicators including laboratory tests and expert examinations is used for heart failure diagnosis, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and identifies a specific subset of four critical health indicators (fatigue level, orthopnea, dyspnea, and oxygen saturation) from the comprehensive set of potential indicators. This selective extraction maintains diagnostic accuracy while eliminating unnecessary complexity from the diagnosis system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different weights and priorities to specific health indicators based on their diagnostic value for heart failure. Rather than treating all indicators equally, the system focuses computational and clinical resources on the four most predictive indicators, optimizing the diagnostic process.
2Reliability
If multiple laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging are required for heart failure monitoring, then monitoring reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the four essential health indicators needed for reliable heart failure monitoring, eliminating the need for frequent laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging. This reduction maintains monitoring reliability while dramatically improving ease of operation for patients and healthcare providers.
Solution Approach 2:
The selected health indicators can be measured through patient self-reporting and simple home measurements (such as oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter), enabling patients to monitor their own condition without requiring complex medical infrastructure or expert intervention.
3Measurement precision
If expert cardiologists perform heart failure diagnosis and monitoring, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but loss of time increases due to specialist availability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a computerized classification system as an intermediary between raw health indicator data and final diagnosis. This automated classifier processes the four health indicators and provides diagnostic recommendations, serving as a bridge that maintains accuracy while reducing dependency on specialist availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy of the expert diagnostic process by encoding cardiologist decision-making rules into a computerized classification system. This digital copy can rapidly process patient data and provide diagnostic accuracy comparable to expert cardiologists without the time constraints of specialist availability.
4Measurement precision
If extensive health indicators including in-vitro diagnostic tests are used for heart failure diagnosis, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of substance and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the four most cost-effective health indicators (fatigue level, orthopnea, dyspnea, and oxygen saturation) that provide the greatest diagnostic value. This selective approach maintains diagnostic precision while eliminating costly in-vitro diagnostic tests and reducing overall diagnosis cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent prioritizes health indicators that can be measured through inexpensive, non-invasive methods rather than costly laboratory tests. The four selected indicators can be assessed through patient reporting and simple home devices, providing a cost-effective alternative to expensive diagnostic infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and computer program are provided for computer aided diagnosis or monitoring of heart failure patients. The system and computer program obtain patient data representing measurements of a select and limited set of health indicators of a patient. A trained classifier is applied to the patient data to obtain a classification of the occurrence or degree of heart failure for the patient. The limited set of health indicators is specifically selected from a large set of health indicators which are known to be predictive of heart failure on the basis of a clinical study which demonstrated the accuracy of the classification using this select set.