RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Computer assisted selection and assessment of antibodies in the diagnosis of lymphomas.
JF Journal of Clinical Pathology
JO J Clin Pathol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists
SP 840
OP 843
DO 10.1136/jcp.43.10.840
VO 43
IS 10
A1 Harkin, P J
A1 Kelly, S A
A1 Jack, A S
YR 1990
UL http://jcp.bmj.com/content/43/10/840.abstract
AB With increasing numbers of reagents the problem of selecting appropriate antibodies to solve problems in the diagnosis of lymphoma is becoming more complex. One approach is to use a computer program to optimise the selection process. Such a program was devised, incorporating data from an extensive literature search. When presented with a differential diagnosis it selects the most appropriate antibody panel and when given the results evaluates the relative likelihood of each possible diagnosis. In a retrospective study 81% of the tests used had been non-discriminatory, but using the results of the remaining 19% of the tests, the computer was able to select the "correct" diagnosis with a high degree of certainty. The development and use of this system illustrated several problems in the application of computer assisted diagnostic techniques in histopathology. These problems include incomplete data and lack of understanding of the process of histopathological diagnosis.