A Novel Computer-Assisted Algorithmic Method for Differential Diagnosis of Dermatological Diseases

Abstract

To deal with human surface locations electronically, it is essential to establish a designation method to code the sites. For the development of site designation methods and databases, dermatological textbooks, atlantes and clinical photographs were collected and reviewed. The sites were systematically named, numbered, and mapped on human models. The whole human surface was divided into 484 segments, and then assembled into 15 groups and 29 subgroups. After establishing the site designation method, we constructed a database of the sites of occurrence of dermatological diseases, and a database of age, sex, signs and symptoms. More than 700 diseases were analyzed and coded into the database. To gather information on the site of a particular disease, not only textbooks, and atlantes of dermatology, but also photographs obtained during clinical practices were reviewed, as clinical photos of patients can be more delicate than the descriptions in textbooks. The prototype of a computer assisted dermatological diagnosing system was made using site a designation method and the databases. This interactive computer program worked relatively well as a helpful guide or dermatological diagnosing tool. Further diseases are being added to the databases.