A model based method for computer aided medical decision making

"A CASNET model consists of three main components: observations of a patient, pathophysiological states, and disease classifications. As observations are recorded, they are associated with the appropriate intennediate states. These states, in turn, are typically causally related, thereby forming a network that summarizes the mechanisms of disease. It is these patterns of states in the network that are linked to individual disease classes." Artificial intelligence, August, 1978. Reprinted in Clancey & Shortliffe. Readings in Medical Artificial Intelligence: The First Decade. Ch. 7.