Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep 3;2(2):e9.
doi: 10.2196/rehab.4109.

Disease Profiling for Computerized Peer Support of Ménière's Disease

Jyrki Rasku  1   2 , Ilmari Pyykkö  2 , Hilla Levo  3 , Erna Kentala  3 , Vinaya Manchaiah  4   5   6
Affiliations

Disease Profiling for Computerized Peer Support of Ménière's Disease

Jyrki Rasku et al. JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. .

Abstract

Background: Peer support is an emerging form of person-driven active health care. Chronic conditions such as Ménière's disease (a disorder of the inner ear) need continuing rehabilitation and support that is beyond the scope of routine clinical medical practice. Hence, peer-support programs can be helpful in supplementing some of the rehabilitation aspects.

Objective: The aim of this study was to design a computerized data collection system for the peer support of Menière's disease that is capable in profiling the subject for diagnosis and in assisting with problem solving.

Methods: The expert program comprises several data entries focusing on symptoms, activity limitations, participation restrictions, quality of life, attitude and personality trait, and an evaluation of disease-specific impact. Data was collected from 740 members of the Finnish Ménière's Federation and utilized in the construction and evaluation of the program.

Results: The program verifies the diagnosis of a person by using an expert system, and the inference engine selects 50 cases with matched symptom severity by using a nearest neighbor algorithm. These cases are then used as a reference group to compare with the person's attitude, sense of coherence, and anxiety. The program provides feedback for the person and uses this information to guide the person through the problem-solving process.

Conclusions: This computer-based peer-support program is the first example of an advanced computer-oriented approach using artificial intelligence, both in the profiling of the disease and in profiling the person's complaints for hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo.

Keywords: Ménière’s disease; activity limitation; diagnosis; disease profiling; enablement; machine learning; participation restriction; peer-support.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Disease scoring formula.
Figure 2
Figure 2
System architecture and data description of the peer-support program. (Note: Questionnaire data is stored in the person-data database and disease descriptors are stored in the knowledge database. The table in the left shows the questionnaires used. The disease descriptors on the right side include the inference engine.).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Histogram of program criteria values S(d).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The general health-related quality of life and the disease-specific impact of Ménière's disease compared with 50 matched cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Clemmens C, Ruckenstein M. Characteristics of patients with unilateral and bilateral Meniere's disease. Otol Neurotol. 2012 Sep;33(7):1266–9. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0b013e31826426b9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pulec J. Meniere's disease: results of a two and one-half-year study of etiology, natural history and results of treatment. Laryngoscope. 1972 Sep;82(9):1703–15. doi: 10.1288/00005537-197209000-00011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Orji F. The Influence of Psychological Factors in Meniere's Disease. Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2014 Jan;4(1):3–7. doi: 10.4103/2141-9248.126601. http://www.amhsr.org/article.asp?issn=2141-9248;year=2014;volume=4;issue... - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anderson JP, Harris JP. Impact of Meniere's disease on quality of life. Otol Neurotol. 2001 Nov;22(6):888–94. - PubMed
    1. Mikula P, Nagyova I, Krokavcova M, Vitkova M, Rosenberger J, Szilasiova J, Gdovinova Z, Groothoff JW, van Dijk Jitse P Social participation and health-related quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis. Disabil Health J. 2015 Jan;8(1):29–34. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2014.07.002. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources