| The EM algorithm and medical studies: a historical link. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 9185287 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Anderson Gray McKendrick's 1926 paper, 'Applications of mathematics to medical problems', was the earliest reference cited in Dempster et al.'s 1977 paper that defined and popularized the EM algorithm. McKendrick's paper was prominently featured by Joseph Oscar Irwin in his 1962 inaugural address as the President of the Royal Statistical Society (in the UK), entitled 'The place of mathematics in medical and biological statistics'. The link of McKendrick's work to the EM algorithm is due to an improvement made by Irwin on a novel method McKendrick used for estimating an infection rate when the observed data do not distinguish between those individuals who are not susceptible to the infection and those who are susceptible, but do not develop symptoms. This article examines this link, along the way illustrating the central ideas underlying the EM algorithm as well as its properties; the examination also suggests a profiling strategy for speeding up EM, which may be worthy of general investigation. McKendrick's data on an epidemic of cholera are used for illustration and to compare EM with Irwin's method as well as the Newton-Raphson algorithm. Issues beyond computation are also discussed whenever appropriate. |
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Authors:
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X L Meng |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Biography; Comparative Study; Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Statistical methods in medical research Volume: 6 ISSN: 0962-2802 ISO Abbreviation: Stat Methods Med Res Publication Date: 1997 Mar |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 1997-08-14 Completed Date: 1997-08-14 Revised Date: 2006-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9212457 Medline TA: Stat Methods Med Res Country: ENGLAND |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 3-23 Citation Subset: IM; Q |
Affiliation:
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Department of Statistics, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA. meng@paolu.uchicago.edu |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Algorithms* Analysis of Variance Biometry / history*, methods Confidence Intervals Disease Outbreaks / history, statistics & numerical data Great Britain History, 20th Century Humans Likelihood Functions Poisson Distribution |
| Personal Name Subject | |
Personal Name Subject:
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A G McKendrick |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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