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                   The Differential Engine                 
      v1.30 by Matt Glasgow. Email: mglasgow@xtra.co.nz    
                                                           
  ͼ

DDX13.ZIP contains the following:

 - DDX13.COM
 - DDX13.ICN
 - DDX13.TXT

Welcome to the DIFFERENTIAL ENGINE. This programme will generate a list of possible diagnoses for a given symptom. The data originates from a number of sources. All efforts have been made to ensure its validity: however no responsibility is taken for its completeness or accuracy. Use with care in combination with your own clinical judgement.

The intention, and the way I use it, is to provide reminders of differential diagnoses when a scenario is met which does not fill the typical criteria for common pathologies, or just to sometimes remind me of the rarer causes for common symptoms. 

The programme accepts some abbreviations as input and will find a similar match in the event of none identical being found. It will also provide an option to view related topics if such exists within the data.

 - Commands  [F10]/Exit/Quit/End/Q/X will end programme.
 -           [F2)/All/List will list all symptoms and synonyms.
 -           [F1]/Help/Menu/[ENTER] will bring up help.

Installation is easy. Put all files the same directory. This is a simple DOS programme that will run either under Application Manager (see appendix), or under DOS or DOS-based menu programmes (I run mine under HDM via MAXDOS, although the memory requirements are minimal). A 200LX compatible icon is included. This programme is optimised for the HP200LX, but will run 'as is' on a desktop, appearing rather low-res in comparison.

This programme can be distributed freely, but please do so in its original ZIPPED format containing all four components as listed above.

This programme is an ongoing project. It is basically a simple database and search engine. Future enhancements will comprise largely of additions or corrections to the existing data. Assistance in this regard is possible from second parties, and anyone wishing to contribute (contributers will be recognised in further releases) can email me and I will forward simple instructions regarding the data format (or, most of what you need to know can be accessed by hitting [F3] at the Symptom prompt), which can be added to the source code from plain text files.

Any comments or questions will be happily received at the above email address. (In fact, even simple aknowledgement that this programme has been used will help motivate me to update this and work on other projects).

If you use your Palmtop in a medical setting, then look out for other programmes I have worked on, also available from the S.U.P.E.R site, including:

--------------------------------------------------------------- - PEFR : looks up Expected Peak Expiratory Flow Rate in Adults from computerised tables and calculates clinically useful proportions in relation to usual and current PEFRs.
--------------------------------------------------------------- 

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:- All care has been taken in the writing of this programme, but the author cannot accept any responsibility for any errors, or for the subsequent clinical application of programme output.


APPENDIX: Installation on the HPLX.
-----------------------------------

Unzip/copy all files into the same directory (the naming of which is unimportant, but A:\DDX\ would do as an example.

From the Application Manager desktop, press F2 (ADD).

! Input the following data as required:

 Name:      Diff Dx
 Path:      a:\ddx\ddx13.com|
 Comments:  
 Icon:      (should automatically display icon when selected)

And hit F10 when done. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

