User login
Credit: CDC
The 2500-year-old Pythagorean theorem could be the most effective way to identify the point at which a patient’s health begins to improve, a new study suggests.
Researchers made the discovery while examining receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, which are used to measure changes in a patient’s health status.
“It all comes down to choosing a point on a curve to determine when recovery has occurred,” said study author Rob Froud, PhD, of the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK.
“For many chronic conditions, epidemiologists agree that the correct point to choose is that which is closest to the top-left corner of the plot containing the curve. As we stopped to think about it, it struck us as obvious that the way to choose this point was by using Pythagoras’s theorem.”
The theorem states that, in a right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares of the 2 right-angled sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (the longer diagonal that joins the 2 right-angled sides).
With this formula (a2+b2=c2), a person can determine the length of the hypotenuse when given the length of the other 2 sides.
“We set about exploring the implications of this and how it might change conclusions in research,” Dr Froud said. “We conducted several experiments using real trial data, and it seems using Pythagoras’s theorem makes a material difference.”
“It helps to identify the point at which a patient has improved with more consistency and accuracy than other methods commonly used. The moral of the story is that, before you throw out the old stuff in the attic, just go through it one last time, as there may be something in there that is still relevant and useful.”
Dr Froud and his colleague Gary Abel, PhD, of the University of Cambridge in the UK, described this research in PLOS ONE. 
Credit: CDC
The 2500-year-old Pythagorean theorem could be the most effective way to identify the point at which a patient’s health begins to improve, a new study suggests.
Researchers made the discovery while examining receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, which are used to measure changes in a patient’s health status.
“It all comes down to choosing a point on a curve to determine when recovery has occurred,” said study author Rob Froud, PhD, of the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK.
“For many chronic conditions, epidemiologists agree that the correct point to choose is that which is closest to the top-left corner of the plot containing the curve. As we stopped to think about it, it struck us as obvious that the way to choose this point was by using Pythagoras’s theorem.”
The theorem states that, in a right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares of the 2 right-angled sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (the longer diagonal that joins the 2 right-angled sides).
With this formula (a2+b2=c2), a person can determine the length of the hypotenuse when given the length of the other 2 sides.
“We set about exploring the implications of this and how it might change conclusions in research,” Dr Froud said. “We conducted several experiments using real trial data, and it seems using Pythagoras’s theorem makes a material difference.”
“It helps to identify the point at which a patient has improved with more consistency and accuracy than other methods commonly used. The moral of the story is that, before you throw out the old stuff in the attic, just go through it one last time, as there may be something in there that is still relevant and useful.”
Dr Froud and his colleague Gary Abel, PhD, of the University of Cambridge in the UK, described this research in PLOS ONE.
Credit: CDC
The 2500-year-old Pythagorean theorem could be the most effective way to identify the point at which a patient’s health begins to improve, a new study suggests.
Researchers made the discovery while examining receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, which are used to measure changes in a patient’s health status.
“It all comes down to choosing a point on a curve to determine when recovery has occurred,” said study author Rob Froud, PhD, of the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK.
“For many chronic conditions, epidemiologists agree that the correct point to choose is that which is closest to the top-left corner of the plot containing the curve. As we stopped to think about it, it struck us as obvious that the way to choose this point was by using Pythagoras’s theorem.”
The theorem states that, in a right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares of the 2 right-angled sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (the longer diagonal that joins the 2 right-angled sides).
With this formula (a2+b2=c2), a person can determine the length of the hypotenuse when given the length of the other 2 sides.
“We set about exploring the implications of this and how it might change conclusions in research,” Dr Froud said. “We conducted several experiments using real trial data, and it seems using Pythagoras’s theorem makes a material difference.”
“It helps to identify the point at which a patient has improved with more consistency and accuracy than other methods commonly used. The moral of the story is that, before you throw out the old stuff in the attic, just go through it one last time, as there may be something in there that is still relevant and useful.”
Dr Froud and his colleague Gary Abel, PhD, of the University of Cambridge in the UK, described this research in PLOS ONE.