Methods and systems for induction and use of probabilistic patterns to support decisions under uncertainty

摘要

Methods and systems are provided for the induction and use of probabilistic patterns in data to support decisions under uncertainty. In an aspect, the proposed approach both suggests a decision and justifies the suggestion in a convenient form for an end-user (e.g., a physician). At least one probabilistic pattern of the form B(x)→C may be generated based on data for cases with known classification. Pattern-coded data may be generated for the known cases and for another case (e.g., a test case or a new case), by evaluating the data for the known cases and other case with the at least one probabilistic pattern. A classification decision may be made for the test case by subjecting the pattern-coded data to, for example, an ordering and ranking procedure or a voting procedure. Because the probabilistic patterns are readily interpretable, the end-user can verify the validity of both the patterns and the decision.