| Title | Interpretation of Symptoms with a Data-Processing Machine |
| Author(s) | Keeve Brodman, MD; Andrianus J. van Woerkom, PhD; Albert J. Erdmann, Jr., MD; and Leo S. Goldstein, PhD |
| Source | AMA Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 103, Pages 776-782 |
| Publication Date | May, 1959 |
| Abstract | The claim is frequently advanced that the process of drawing correct diagnostic inferences from a patient's symptoms is in large part indefinable and intuitive. It is the purpose of this communication to show that the making of correct diagnostic interpretations of symptoms can be a process in all aspects logical and so completely defined that it can be carried out by a machine. The machine chosen for this demonstration is a conventional high-speed electronic data processing system, programmed to make diagnostic decisions in a manner analogous to that of an unbiased physician. |