ABSTRACT
Computational intelligence (CI) has only recently emerged as a discipline and is becoming more effective in solving biomedical-engineering problems, specifically those in which human intervention can be replaced by some form of automated response. A major part of this book has been devoted to reviewing everyday biomedical problems that have benefited from recent CI applications. Until now, most CI research into biomedical-engineering problems has focused on classifying disorders based on pathological characteristics. The motivation is to first replicate the diagnostic skill of the medical specialist and if possible provide more reliable diagnosis. In this endeavor, two trends in the application of CI have emerged; the first is classification of the pathology or disease and the second is the modeling of biological systems from where the pathology arises. The former has enjoyed cautionary acceptance within the clinical environment because physicians easily recognize the concepts of classification and pattern recognition. The latter is, however, less well accepted by clinicians because CI techniques tend to present as “black box” solutions, whose success depends on the practitioner’s knowledge. It is, therefore, important to recognize that more research is needed to bring CI to the forefront of medical technology and to quell the remaining fears. For now, let us briefly review what has been achieved so far to summarize the book.
