I had the opportunity to attend a days worth of talks on mathematical epidemiological modeling for new diagnostic technologies recently, something that I don’t have any experience with. It is interesting to see how similar areas approach similar problems differently. Certainly in my GBD 2010 descriptive epidemiology modeling work, I needed to cope with changes in diagnostic technology, for example a test for heart attacks developed in the 1990s led to detection of 50% more cases. But I never looked at things from the perspective of the diagnostic developer (or diagnostic investor).
If I were to start, it seems like the Nature series Improved Diagnostic Technologies for the Developing World is loaded with interesting approaches and results. It is several years old now, but it was never called to my attention before. I’m going to take a look at it.
Healthy Algorithms 