[New developments in the computer-assisted diagnosis of focal bone lesions]

Since the 1960s there have been numerous reports in the literature about computer-aided medical diagnosis and therapy. However, so far computer-aided diagnosis has not become important in the clinical routine or in the field of radiology. This paper describes the hitherto existing proposals for expert systems to evaluate focal bone lesions and presents a new concept. The basic ideas of this program are: (1) a PC-based interactive dialogue along on the basis of a defined questionnaire; (2) the use of certainty factors to handle uncertainty and vagueness in evaluating the different radiological findings and their correlation with diagnoses; (3) the link between visual information and the questionnaire. The aims of such expert systems are (a) a complete and systematic analysis of the films, (b) independency of association with previously diagnosed cases in reporting the films, (c) the procurement and use of radiological descriptive terms, and (d) aid in the radiological evaluation of focal bone lesions.