Predisposition Modification Using Attribute Combinations

Abstract

A method and system for computer based predisposition modification are presented in which the attribute profile of an individual is compared against attribute combinations that are statistically associated with a query attribute. Those attribute combinations which contain attributes that are also present in the individual's attribute profile are tabulated along with their strengths of association for the query attribute, to indicate attribute changes to the attribute profile that can modify the individual's statistical predisposition for association with the query attribute.

1 . A computer based method for predisposition modification, comprising:
 a) receiving a query attribute;   b) accessing an attribute profile associated with an individual;   c) accessing a set containing attribute combinations and statistical results that indicate the strength of association of each of the attribute combinations with the query attribute;   d) identifying attribute combinations in the set that contain attributes from the attribute profile; and   e) tabulating one or more of the identified attribute combinations statistical results to indicate changes to the attribute profile that modify the individual's statistical predisposition for association with the query attribute.   
   
   
       2 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying attribute combinations in the set that contain attributes from the attribute profile comprises:
 i) identifying the largest attribute combination in the set that consists of attributes from the attribute profile; and   ii) identifying even larger attribute combinations in the set that contain the largest attribute combination, the difference in content between the largest attribute combination and the even larger attribute combinations indicating attributes that can be added to the attribute profile to modify the individual's statistical predisposition for association with the query attribute.   
   
   
       3 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying attribute combinations in the set that contain attributes from the attribute profile comprises:
 i) identifying the largest attribute combination in the set that consists of attributes from the attribute profile; and   ii) identifying smaller attribute combinations in the set that consist of attributes from the largest attribute combination, the difference in content between the largest attribute combination and the smaller attribute combinations indicating attributes that can be eliminated from the attribute profile to modify the individual's statistical predisposition for association with the query attribute.   
   
   
       4 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , wherein tabulating further comprises:
 i) ordering the identified attribute combinations based on their attribute content and strength of association with the query attribute.   
   
   
       5 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 f) storing the tabulation.   
   
   
       6 . The computer based method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 g) associating the tabulation with the individual and storing the association.   
   
   
       7 . The computer based method of  claim 6 , wherein storing the association comprises storing a link to one or more of: an identifier of the individual, the attribute profile associated with the individual and a record of the individual. 
   
   
       8 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 f) transmitting the tabulation as output.   
   
   
       9 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 f) transmitting the tabulation to create a predisposition modification report or record.   
   
   
       10 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 f) repeating steps (a)- (e) for a succession of query attributes to create a plurality of tabulations for predisposition modification.   
   
   
       11 . The computer based method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 g) identifying non-historical attributes within attribute combinations of the plurality of tabulations as potentially modifiable attributes;   h) identifying the number of tabulations in which each of the potentially modifiable attributes appears; and   i) tabulating the potentially modifiable attributes as a rank-ordered list indicating which potentially modifiable attributes have the largest influence on the individual's statistical predisposition toward the largest number of query attributes, based on the number of tabulations in which each of the potentially modifiable attributes appears and the statistical results.   
   
   
       12 . The computer based method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 f) identifying non-historical attributes within the identified attribute combinations as potentially modifiable attributes.   
   
   
       13 . The computer based method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 g) transmitting the potentially modifiable attributes to create a report or record regarding potentially modifiable attributes for predisposition modification.   
   
   
       14 . The computer based method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 g) storing the potentially modifiable attributes.   
   
   
       15 . The computer based method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 h) associating the potentially modifiable attributes with the individual and storing the association.   
   
   
       16 . The computer based method of  claim 15 , wherein storing the association comprises storing a link to one or more of: an identifier of the individual, the attribute profile associated with the individual and a record of the individual. 
   
   
       17 . A computer based system for predisposition modification, comprising:
 a) a data receiving subsystem for receiving a query attribute;   b) a first data accessing subsystem for accessing an attribute profile associated with an individual;   c) a second data accessing subsystem for accessing a set containing attribute combinations and statistical results that indicate the strength of association of each of the attribute combinations with the query attribute;   d) a data processing subsystem comprising:   i) a data comparison subsystem for identifying attribute combinations in the set that contain attributes from the attribute profile; and   ii) a data tabulating subsystem for tabulating one or more of the identified attribute combinations and statistical results to indicate changes to the attribute profile that can modify the individual's statistical predisposition for association with the query attribute.   
   
   
       18 . The computer based system of  claim 17 , wherein the data comparison subsystem is also for identifying non-historical attributes within the identified attribute combinations as potentially modifiable attributes. 
   
   
       19 . The computer based system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 e) a data storage subsystem for storing the tabulation.   
   
   
       20 . The computer based system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 e) a communications subsystem for transmitting the tabulation as output.