Iterative conceptual modeling: A case study in cardiac patient survival simulation

Iterative conceptual modeling techniques were used to abstract a computer model of emergency department patient characteristics from a medical dataset. This research effort focused on unbalanced medical data then developed and defined a simulation of cardiac patient survival. The approach focused on desired real-world outcomes for the model. Specifically, iterative conceptual modeling ensured alignment between real-world needs and model development. Model validity was enhanced and the problem of unbalanced medical data was discovered and addressed through iterative prototyping. Overall, the effort approach reduced Type II Errors and improved simulation accuracy. This research yielded tangible benefits in an emergency department cardiac patient study where each improvement in accuracy can directly impact life and death decisions. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.