Method and system for enabling lay users to obtain relevant, personalized health related information

Abstract

The invention features methods, systems, and computer programs for generating a customized set of possible medical conditions, thereby providing access to medical information relevant to the user's state of health. The methods and systems involve at least some of the following steps: receiving a list of symptoms specified in terms selected from a first language set; translating the list of symptoms into a translated list of symptoms specified in terms selected from a second language set; using the translated list of symptoms to generate possible medical conditions, the possible medical conditions described in terms of the second language set; and translating the possible medical conditions into descriptions that are specified in terms selected from the first language set.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A computer system for generating a diagnosis based on identified symptoms associated with a patient, the system having a computer configured to execute instructions stored on a memory, said system comprising:
 an interface configured to receive one or more symptoms associated with the patient;   an analysis module configured to generate possible medical conditions based on the one or more symptoms associated with the patient; and   an assignor configured to assign a probability weight coefficient to each of the possible medical conditions based on a presence of one or more symptoms that exclude a possible condition and at least one of (i) clustering or pattern recognition of symptoms to possible conditions, and (ii) whether the patient is associated with a geographical location that is also associated with at least one of the possible medical conditions;   wherein the analysis module is also configured to generate an ordered list of possible medical conditions associated with the patient based on the assigned weight coefficients.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the interface comprises a representation of a human body presented to a user through a visual display, wherein
 a plurality of regions are defined within the representation of the human body;   the interface is configured to receive input from the user selecting a particular one of the plurality of regions;   the interface is configured to display to the user a list of symptoms associated with the selected region and is configured to enable the user to select the one or more symptoms associated with the patient from the displayed list of symptoms; and   the interface is also configured to display the ordered list of possible medical conditions associated with the patient.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the interface is further configured to:
 query the user for additional symptom information to refine the possible medical conditions generated by the analysis module;   receive the additional symptom information from the user; and   add the additional symptom information to the one or more symptoms selected by the user.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface is further configured to receive additional personal health information, and wherein the analysis module is configured to generate the possible medical conditions based on the additional personal health information as well as the one or more symptoms associated with the patient. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the additional personal health information is at least one of age, gender, and geographical information. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface is further configured to:
 query for additional symptom information to refine the possible medical conditions generated by the analysis module;   receive the additional symptom information; and   add the received additional symptom information to the one or more symptoms associated with the patient.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface is configured to receive the one or more symptoms associated with the patient from at least one of user input and an external data source. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the external data source is at least one of a health profile associated with the patient, public health information, and a health tracking system. 
     
     
         9 . A computer-implemented method for generating a diagnosis based on identified symptoms associated with a patient, said method comprising:
 in a computer system, receiving one or more symptoms associated with the patient;   based on the one or more symptoms, in the computer system, generating possible medical conditions;   assigning a probability weight coefficient to each of the possible medical conditions based on a presence of one or more symptoms that exclude a possible condition and at least one of (i) clustering or pattern recognition of symptoms to possible conditions, and (ii) whether the patient is associated with a geographical location that is also associated with at least one of the possible medical conditions; and   generating an ordered list of possible medical conditions associated with the patient based on the assigned weight coefficients.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more symptoms are received by a method comprising:
 via the computer system presenting a representation of a human body to a user through a visual display;   defining a plurality of regions within the representation of the human body;   via the computer system receiving input from the user selecting a particular one of the plurality of regions;   in response to the received input, displaying to the user a list of symptoms associated with the selected region; and   enabling the user to select the one or more symptoms associated with the patient from the displayed list of symptoms.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 querying the user for additional symptom information to refine the generated possible medical conditions;   receiving the additional symptom information from the user; and   adding the additional symptom information to the one or more symptoms selected by the user.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving additional personal health information and wherein generating the possible medical conditions is also based on the personal health information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the additional personal health information is at least one of age, gender, and geographical information. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 via the computer system, querying for additional symptom information to refine the generated possible medical conditions;   receiving the additional symptom information; and   adding the received additional symptom information to the one or more symptoms associated with the patient.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the received list of symptoms is received from at least one of user input and an external data source. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the external data source is at least one of a health profile associated with the patient, public health information, and a health tracking system. 
     
     
         17 . A computer system for determining population-wide health trends, the system having a computer configured to execute instructions stored on a memory, the system comprising:
 an interface to a query engine configured to receive, for each user of a plurality of users, (i) a list of reported symptoms and (ii) a geographic location;   an analysis module configured to generate possible medical conditions for each user of the plurality of users based on the list of reported symptoms received from said each user of the plurality of users; and   a cluster identification module configured to identify at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters based on a number of users concurrently reporting one or more symptoms associated with a specific medical condition at specific geographic locations.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the identification of at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters is based on identifying geographic locations having a highest incidence of one or more specific symptoms. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 an assignment module configured to assign, for each user, a probability weight coefficient to each of the possible medical conditions generated for said each user based on a presence of one or more symptoms that exclude a possible condition and at least one of (i) clustering or pattern recognition of symptoms to possible conditions, and (ii) whether said each user is associated with a geographical location that is also associated with at least one of the possible medical conditions.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising a comparison module configured to compare prevalence of at least one of reported symptoms and generated medical conditions in different geographic locations. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the cluster identification module provides information related to the identified at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters to the plurality of users via a website having at least one of condition reports and condition maps. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising an output module configured to provide an output to a third party, wherein the output includes at least one of (i) a comparison of a prevalence of at least one of symptoms and conditions in different geographical locations, and (ii) an identification of a geographical location having a highest incidence of one or more specific symptoms; and wherein the output is in a format suitable for marketing or publication use. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the third party is at least one of a public health official, a marketer, and a consumer. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the interface comprises a visual display having a representation of a human body, wherein
 the visual display defines a plurality of regions within the representation of the human body;   the interface is configured to receive input selecting a particular one of the plurality of regions; and   the interface is configured to display a list of medical symptoms associated with the selected region via the visual display and is configured to enable selection of a plurality of symptoms from the displayed list of symptoms.   
     
     
         25 . A computer-implemented method for determining population-wide health trends, the method comprising:
 receiving, for each user of a plurality of users, via an interface to a query engine in a computer system, (i) a list of reported symptoms and (ii) a geographic location;   generating, in the computer system, possible medical conditions for each user of the plurality of users based on the list of reported symptoms received from said each user of the plurality of users; and   identifying, in the computer system, at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters based on a number of users concurrently reporting one or more symptoms associated with a specific medical condition at specific geographic locations.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the identification of at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters is based on identifying geographic locations having a highest incidence of one or more specific symptoms. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 assigning, for each user, a probability weight coefficient to each of the possible medical conditions generated for said each user based on a presence of one or more symptoms that exclude a possible condition and at least one of (i) clustering or pattern recognition of symptoms to possible conditions, and (ii) whether said each user is associated with a geographical location that is also associated with at least one of the possible medical conditions.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising comparing prevalence of at least one of symptoms and conditions in different geographic locations. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising providing information related to the identified at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters to the plurality of users via a website having at least one of condition reports and condition maps. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising providing an output to a third party, wherein the output includes at least one of (i) a comparison of a prevalence of at least one of symptoms and conditions in different geographical locations, and (ii) an identification of a geographical location having a highest incidence of one or more specific symptoms; and wherein the output is in a format suitable for marketing or publication use. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the third party is at least one of a public health official, a marketer, and a consumer. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the list of reported symptoms received for each user of the plurality of users is received by a method comprising:
 presenting a representation of a human body through a visual display;   defining a plurality of regions within the representation of the human body;   receiving input selecting a first region of the plurality of regions;   in response to the received input, displaying a list of medical symptoms associated with the selected first region; and   enabling selection of a plurality of symptoms from the displayed list of symptoms.   
     
     
         33 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for execution on a computer system, said code comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:
 receive one or more symptoms associated with a patient;   based on the one or more symptoms, generate possible medical conditions;   assign a probability weight coefficient to each of the possible medical conditions based on a presence of one or more symptoms that exclude a possible condition and at least one of (i) clustering or pattern recognition of symptoms to possible conditions; and (ii) whether the patient is associated with a geographical location that is also associated with at least one of the possible medical conditions; and   generate an ordered list of possible medical conditions associated with the patient based on the assigned weight coefficients.   
     
     
         34 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for execution on a computer system, said code comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:
 receive, for each user of a plurality of users, in a computer system, (i) a list of reported symptoms and (ii) a geographic location;   generate, in the computer system, possible medical conditions for each user of the plurality of users based on the list of reported symptoms received from said each user of the plurality of users; and   identify, in the computer system, at least one of symptom clusters and condition clusters based on a number of users concurrently reporting one or more symptoms associated with a specific medical condition at specific geographic locations.