Advances in Chinese Medicine Diagnosis: From Traditional Methods to Computational Models

Abstract

Ancient Chinese medicine practitioners deduced about 5,000 years ago that the exterior appearance of the body was closely related to the functions of the internal organs and viscera. They sought for explanations for this interior-exterior connection by establishing relationships between human beings and Nature. Other natural philosophers also applied such reasoning, e.g. Aristotle [384-322 BC], Leonardo Da Vinci [1452-1519], and Rene Descartes [1596-1650]. Although it is not possible to say that Chinese medicine practitioners were unique in this task, they organized those relationships in a pioneer manner long before their Western counterparts. Chinese and Western physicians were not distinct in their conceptual framework, but their respective medical practices evolved on different cultures and historical contexts. Therefore, it is expected that the advances on medical knowledge represent this cultural divergence. Many efforts have been made to integrate the ancient, traditional knowledge of Chinese medicine into contemporary, Eastern medical practice. Diagnosis is a key element in this integration of medical systems since it links the patient’s needs to the available therapeutic resources. The art of Chinese medicine diagnosis was enriched throughout history but it main traditional aspect remains unchanged: the exclusive use of information available to the naked senses. Clinical information provided by vision, hearing, smelling, and touching is interpreted in a framework of Chinese medicine theories of physiology. No equipment or instrument was developed with specific diagnostic purposes or based on Chinese medicine theories. However, advances in computation and biomedical instruments allowed more powerful analysis of clinical data and quantification of parameters otherwise assessed only in a qualitative fashion. As a consequence, computer models for diagnosis in Chinese medicine were developed and tested in the last few decades and are promising tools in the clinical environment. This chapter introduces the traditional methods of diagnosis in Chinese medicine and introduces their evolution into computational models. Current methods for validation of computational model by the assessment of their diagnostic accuracy and possible sources of errors are also presented. Finally, perspectives on the issue of computational diagnosis are discussed.