ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the development of programs which apply artificial intelligence techniques to medical applications such as diagnosis the selection and interpretation of therapy. It suggests that an analogy between the development of an artificial intelligence in medicine (AIM) program and the growth of a child, as a handy mnemonic to guide one's expectations of the stages of development of the program. The motivation for building an AIM program may range from a pressing medical need for a program that embodies some valuable and not universally-known expertise to a desire to try out a new computer technology in an interesting domain of application. Collaboration appears to be the sine qua non of research and development for creating sophisticated computer programs which perform interesting applications in medicine. Computer scientists have little understanding of how building computer programs can benefit the practice of medicine.
