- From: Ogbuji, Chimezie <OGBUJIC@ccf.org>
- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:25:58 -0400
- To: dan.russler@oracle.com, dirk.colaert@agfa.com
- cc: "Dan Corwin" <dan@lexikos.com>, public-hcls-coi@w3.org, public-semweb-lifesci@w3.org, public-semweb-lifesci-request@w3.org, rector@cs.man.ac.uk, "Samson Tu" <swt@stanford.edu>, "Oniki, Tom (GE Healthcare, consultant)" <Tom.Oniki@ge.com>, "Kashyap, Vipul" <VKASHYAP1@PARTNERS.ORG>
A (perhaps) naive question, inline below. >-----Original Message----- >From: Dan Russler [mailto:dan.russler@oracle.com] >Hi Dirk, >Your understanding of "disease" is entirely in synch with mine. >However, my professors in science felt that all measurements >were abstractions with a high degree of potential error, >including medical signs. > >So the basic issue is that "disease" and "medical sign" are >more similar than different in most properties, >e.g.significant introduction of judgement in the measurement >process, their propensity for error, the need for >re-evaluation at a later date, etc. > >Level of abstraction is simply a gray scale and cannot be >classified into "sharp borders" that can be independently >validated by multple classifiers. Therefore, there is no >distinct classifcation between "medical signs" and "disease." The distinction that I've been using is that medical signs are measurements (as Dirk says), and thus 'data' (in the sense that they live in some communication media - digital or paper depending on the medical record system). Diseases are 'pathological dispositions'. This is very much a BFO-ism (for lack of a better word), but it basically means that they are the potential to manifest a process (a pathological process) that can (often) results in a pathological formation. I'd be curious to hear if this philosophical distinction matches the underlying science here. Chimezie (chee-meh) Ogbuji Lead Systems Analyst Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Cleveland Clinic Foundation 9500 Euclid Avenue/ W26 Cleveland, Ohio 44195 Office: (216)444-8593 ogbujic@ccf.org =================================== P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report (2007). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for a complete listing of our services, staff and locations. Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.
Received on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 15:26:54 UTC