Wolfram Alpha: "computational knowledge engine"

Wolfram|Alpha has been in the news/blogosphere lately.

Search Principle Blog
Mr.W's lecture at Berkman Center, Harvard
The NYT
The Register's not-so-glowing review
(for more see 1^st item in this list)

I've spent a bit of time fiddling with it to see what it can do and whether it might be useful for either myself, health consumers or the health professionals I work with.

So far I have found one potential use which is to look up disease mortality rates. If you type in lung cancer for example, you will get Canadian & world mortality figures (number of deaths & rate of death, per year). If you type lung cancer Italy, you get the results for that country & the world.

More interesting is the list¹ of background sources and references that pops up when you click on source information for the original query. In this case:

• World Health Organization. "Data and Statistics" 2009.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "National health Center for disease Statistics." 2009.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "NCHS--Mortality Data from the National Vital Statistics System." 2008.
• The Disaster Center. The Disaster Center. 2009.
• [Poodwaddle.com.] World Clock. 2009 This one is mesmerizing and creepy. I'm not sure that Poodwaddle is an entirely credible source (possibly why Wolfram|Alpha leaves that bit of info out), but whoever they are the data apparently comes from "World Health Oragnization, CIA Factbook, US Census Bureau and other sources."
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "NCHS--Data Warehouse." 2008.

I guess potentially this is a very quick way to find sources that offer statistics for a particular disease, though you still have to search the resources to find the specific data. Unfortunately Canadian resources are not included. Also not sure which diseases are in there. Only one way to find out...

...even more interesting:

Type in heart attack and you get a risk calculator (based on Framingham) that lets you input age, gender, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and risk factors, and which then computes the likelihood that the person whose data is inputted will die from a heart attack in the next ten years.² You are also shown the impact of cholesterol and blood pressure on risk.

I look forward to testing it out further over time. My biggest concern is how reliable and authoritative the information we are getting is. So far my confidence has not been inspired,¹ and I'm not ready to recommend it except as something with potential that's fun to play with. Try asking it how old it is.

Cheers,
FF


¹ Here's what W|A has to say about the list:

This list is intended as a guide to sources of further information. The inclusion of an item in this list does not necessarily mean that its content was used as the basis for any specific Wolfram|Alpha result.

Hmm. Interesting way to cite your sources. Not sure this would wash in a term paper. I have a feeling the issue will come up again (it was also mentioned in the question period of Mr.W's lecture at Berkman Center, Harvard.)

² same result if you input myocardial infarction. No link is suggested between the two terms by W|A.

Prostate cancer treatment options and decision aids: case

I have gotten several requests for information on the topic of prostate cancer, both from patients and from health professionals, so I thought I would share what I found.

Before I do so, I thought it might be helpful to explain what a decision aid (or guide) is, in case anybody reading this has never seen one or is not sure what one is.

I had a hell of a time finding a definition. I checked MedlinePlus' medical dictionary and encyclopedia, and neither had one. Cambridge Dictionaries Online didn't list the term, and neither did the Merriam-Webster online medical dictionary. This time even Google failed me. (I am searching online since I am at the clinic and so don't have access to print resources, much as the average patient or family member wouldn't.) I am finally able to find one definition though. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services,

Decision aids are mechanisms or interventions that have been developed to improve communication between health professionals and patients, and to help involve patients in making decisions regarding their health care. Decision aids can include brochures, videotapes or interactive computer programs. Recent reviews have suggested that decision aids may be effective in supporting general health care decisions.

But what does that mean in plain English? You could say that any information that helps you make a decision could be considered a decision aid, but there two types of tools that are usually referred to using the term decision aid or decision guide.

One kind works like a sort of "choose your own adventure." At each step in the process you are given your options and depending on which you pick, or which is recommended based on test results, other choices are then offered and so on, branching out like a little tree. This makes it possible to see what might happen if you chose one treatment over another.

The other kind brings up important questions and help you make a list of pros and cons, much the same way you might do if you were making any other decision.

Scenario

Information on prostate cancer treatment options and decision aids.

Resolution

Here are a few resources that I found useful:

Treatment options:

National Cancer Institute: What you need to know about prostate cancer.

National Cancer Institute: Prostate cancer treatment

Family Doctor: Prostate cancer treatment options

Canadian Cancer Society: What is prostate cancer?


Decision aids:

Mayo Clinic: Prostate cancer guide

American Cancer Society: Detailed guide- prostate cancer

National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines for patients: prostate cancer (for very advanced readers)


These are for screening but might still be of interest:

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention: Prostate cancer screening decision guide

Lab Tests Online: Prostate cancer tests