New diagnostic approach to brain lesions in nuclear medicine. Differential diagnosis of brain lesions with a computed brain scan diagnosis by the likelihood method.

Using 240 true positive brain scans, a computer system for the differential diagnosis of brain lesions has been evaluated. Eighty-six parameters were extracted from brain scan findings without relationship to neurological signs and symptoms, and the likelihood method was adopted as an example of mathematical logic. The results of our experiment indicated that the overall accuracy was 77 per cent for the maximum likelihood method. The digital computer gave satisfactory results, particularly for diseases such as infarct, meningioma, acoustic neurinoma, and subdural hematoma. In spite of several problems to be solved, this method could provide invaluable help in differential diagnosis of brain lesions.