The complexity of our contemporary medical practice has impelled the development of different decision-support aids based on artificial intelligence and neural networks.Distributed associative memories are neural network models that fit perfectly well to the vision of cognition emerging from current neurosciences.

Context-dependent associative memories can operate as medical expert systems. The model is presented in a simple and tutorial way to encourage straightforward implementations by medical groups. An application with real data, presented as a primary evaluation of the validity and potentiality of the model in medical diagnosis, shows that the model is a highly promising alternative in the development of accuracy diagnostic tools.

Reprinted with Permission from BioMed Central Ltd.