Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
summarizer.hdphealth.com
Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
1–10 of 37 posts
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#2We've built a system that allows us to translate difficult to read research abstracts and convert them into 4 to 8 bullet point descriptions that are readable by the common person.
It's like Blinkist, but for complex research.
Our backend consists of a ton of med school students, PhD's, and researchers.
I myself had an autoimmune disorder for 10 years, well I still have it, but I've been in remission for the last 2 years. Making sense of the research out there is a tall order without an organic chemistry background. When I was first diagnosed, I ended up spending hours trying to read research I barely understood, but that was relative child's play for a PhD to clarify.
It's called Ulcerative colitis and has no known cure. Some of the most intriguing research that I'd wish I had been cognizant of and had a way to read is this article(Http://bit.ly/fodmapfree) on FODMAPS (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols Saccharrides) and their impact on those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Had I known, I would have experimented with something like it to see outcomes. Keep in mind, there's no such thing as an FDA approved diet.
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#3We've built a system that allows us to translate difficult to read research abstracts and convert them into 4 to 8 bullet point descriptions that are readable by the common person. It's like Blinkist, but for complex research. Our backend consists of a ton of med school students, PhD's, and researchers. I myself had an autoimmune disorder for 10 years, well I still have it, but I've been in remission for the last 2 y…
Do you not worry that people who are not researchers, who are providing essentially the "TL;DR" of a disease, will provide incomplete or potentially misleading advice?
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#4We've built a system that allows us to translate difficult to read research abstracts and convert them into 4 to 8 bullet point descriptions that are readable by the common person. It's like Blinkist, but for complex research. Our backend consists of a ton of med school students, PhD's, and researchers. I myself had an autoimmune disorder for 10 years, well I still have it, but I've been in remission for the last 2 y…
Do you not worry that people who are not researchers, who are providing essentially the "TL;DR" of a disease, will provide incomplete or potentially misleading advice?
In addition to what rf1331 said, to what extent is hdphealth liable for a case where e.g. someone reads that treatment X is beneficial for their case, but in fact someone got the facts slightly wrong and it made their case much worse?
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#5We've built a system that allows us to translate difficult to read research abstracts and convert them into 4 to 8 bullet point descriptions that are readable by the common person. It's like Blinkist, but for complex research. Our backend consists of a ton of med school students, PhD's, and researchers. I myself had an autoimmune disorder for 10 years, well I still have it, but I've been in remission for the last 2 y…
Do you not worry that people who are not researchers, who are providing essentially the "TL;DR" of a disease, will provide incomplete or potentially misleading advice?
Of course we do.
This is we try to adhere to common translational research guidelines. The focus is not on opinions but understanding and characterization of the research out there.
Over time, we'll publish these guidelines. As well, in each summary there's a disclaimer that states this is not medical advice. Any action should be discussed with an experienced medical licensed professional.
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you not worry that people who are not researchers, who are providing essentially the "TL;DR" of a disease, will provide incomplete or potentially misleading advice?
In addition to what rf1331 said, to what extent is hdphealth liable for a case where e.g. someone reads that treatment X is beneficial for their case, but in fact someone got the facts slightly wrong and it made their case much worse?
https://www.hdphealth.com/2016/02/16/the-research-on-biopsie...
Notice the disclaimer at the bottom.
As well, we link to the research article itself in every scenario.
At some point we should try to add a "Share with your doctor" button.
Thanks for the feedback.
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#7Looks interesting. I'm curious about the ways a user can visualize the summarized information.
Is it just via paragraphs (like in the one example on your site), bullet points or some other manner? Does each paragraph equal one sentence or do you look for hard-to-understand terms and only summarize those?
On a side note, if any readers know of all the best/varied ways to summarize information ('manually', not via algorithms), I'd be very interested in seeing examples, particularly of news articles and research.
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#8This is generally an awesome idea. The value add is really a jumping off point that can equip you with enough understanding to begin to read about the issue overall.
An additional glossary for terms most important to that research area would also be helpful.
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
In addition to what rf1331 said, to what extent is hdphealth liable for a case where e.g. someone reads that treatment X is beneficial for their case, but in fact someone got the facts slightly wrong and it made their case much worse?
https://www.hdphealth.com/2016/02/16/the-research-on-biopsie... Notice the disclaimer at the bottom. As well, we link to the research article itself in every scenario. At some point we should try to add a "Share with your doctor" button. Thanks for the feedback.
I think a niche certainly exists for your product...
If you could manage to land an ad in AARP-The Magazine for instance, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised at the response...that demographic is of an age where many common ailments begin to show up...
I'd caution you to give the idea of adding a "Share with your doctor" option very careful thought before implementing it...
Some physicians don't mind patients that attempt to research their ailments online prior to an appointment...others dread seeing patients arrive with printouts from the internet...
This is anecdotal from my wife's side of the family, which includes 2 physicians, a dentist, and a physical therapist...
Having said that, times are changing...
Good luck!
Re: Show HN: Medical Research Summarizer – Complex research as simple summaries
#10We've built a system that allows us to translate difficult to read research abstracts and convert them into 4 to 8 bullet point descriptions that are readable by the common person. It's like Blinkist, but for complex research. Our backend consists of a ton of med school students, PhD's, and researchers. I myself had an autoimmune disorder for 10 years, well I still have it, but I've been in remission for the last 2 y…
I think it's amusing that your backend is still human, because really you're just shifting the task onto others, not necessarily solving it.
We've "solved it" per se on Experiment by getting good at training other scientists to get good at this. Unfortunately, that's also still pretty technically hard, but we've developed some editorial heuristics.
Like a real NLP + UpGoerFive approach would be awesome and a real value to the science community, but probably very difficult. :)