In the late eighties of the twentieth century I encountered a paper referring to mathematics dealing with imprecision applied to medical diagnosis. I was working in the area of medical statistics at that time, and obviously I was interested in the contents of the paper. After I had read it I became fascinated by new possibilities of medical data interpretation and processing proposed by the author. The new world of fuzziness, originated by Professor Lotfi Zadeh, seemed to open up to me and I started reading all accessible material about fuzzy set theory. Many years have passed since then. We are now living in the information so- ety and we do not experience troubles in reaching scientific material. Lately I have read many papers and books about treating medical tasks solved by using fuzzy ideas. I am still keen on tracing applications in medicine, and by myself I have been contributing to some concepts in this subject that has motivated me to p- pare my own book. The objective of writing such a book has been a little parti- lar, namely, I have intended to present the subject of fuzzy tools and techniques in medicine for eventual users. These, maybe representatives of medical or phar- cological staffs, are not expected to possess a large amount of mathematical knowledge.

In the late eighties of the twentieth century I encountered a paper referring to mathematics dealing with imprecision applied to medical diagnosis. I was working in the area of medical statistics at that time, and obviously I was interested in the contents of the paper. After I had read it I became fascinated by new possibilities of medical data interpretation and processing proposed by the author. The new world of fuzziness, originated by Professor Lotfi Zadeh, seemed to open up to me and I started reading all accessible material about fuzzy set theory. Many years have passed since then. We are now living in the information so- ety and we do not experience troubles in reaching scientific material. Lately I have read many papers and books about treating medical tasks solved by using fuzzy ideas. I am still keen on tracing applications in medicine, and by myself I have been contributing to some concepts in this subject that has motivated me to p- pare my own book. The objective of writing such a book has been a little parti- lar, namely, I have intended to present the subject of fuzzy tools and techniques in medicine for eventual users. These, maybe representatives of medical or phar- cological staffs, are not expected to possess a large amount of mathematical knowledge.

To say that Fuzzy Logic in Medicine, or FLM for short, is an important addi tion to the literature of fuzzy logic and its applications, is an understatement. Edited by two prominent informaticians, Professors S. Barro and R. Marin, it is one of the first books in its field. Between its covers, FLM presents authoritative expositions of a wide spectrum of medical and biological ap plications of fuzzy logic, ranging from image classification and diagnostics to anaesthesia control and risk assessment of heart diseases. As the editors note in the preface, recognition of the relevance of fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic to biological and medical systems has a long history. In this context, particularly worthy of note is the pioneering work of Profes sor Klaus Peter Adlassnig of the University of Vienna School of Medicine. However, it is only within the past decade that we began to see an accelerat ing growth in the visibility and importance of publications falling under the rubric of fuzzy logic in medicine and biology -a leading example of which is the Journal of the Biomedical Fuzzy Systems Association in Japan. Why did it take so long for this to happen? First, a bit of history.

The development of fuzzy expert systems has provided new opportunities for problem solving amidst uncertainties. The medical field, in particular, has benefitted tremendously from advancing fuzzy system technologies. Fuzzy Expert Systems for Disease Diagnosis highlights the latest research and developments in fuzzy rule-based methods used in the detection of medical complications and illness. Offering emerging solutions and practical applications, this timely publication is designed for use by researchers, academicians, and students, as well as practitioners in the medical field.

"This multi-volume book delves into the many applications of information technology ranging from digitizing patient records to high-performance computing, to medical imaging and diagnostic technologies, and much more"--

Fuzzy and Neuro-Fuzzy Systems in Medicineprovides a thorough review of state-of-the-art techniques and practices, defines and explains relevant problems, as well as provides solutions to these problems. After an introduction, the book progresses from one topic to another - with a linear development from fundamentals to applications.