Determining and Weighting Effective Criteria in Selecting Qualitative Comparative Indicators for Tumor Diagnosis Software Applications in Brain MRI Using Delphi Method and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract

Background and purpose: Many indicators can be used in evaluating and comparing any software, but, currently there are no indicators to compare software applications that separate tumor tissue from healthy tissue in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. The aim of this study was to determine appropriate criteria for selecting a proper software for tumor diagnosis in brain MRI. Materials and methods: A qualitative applied research was designed and performed in 10 stages. Appropriate criteria for selecting the software were determined using Delphi technique and expert opinions (30 people). They were then weighted and prioritized. Results: In this study, a questionnaire was developed which was completed by Information Technology (IT) specialists and software engineers. We extracted 15 criteria, among which the "possibility of using the results in education" was the most agreed (93%) criterion and the "possibility of using software in medical environments" was the least agreed (47%) criterion. Also, these two criteria had the highest and lowest relative weights (0.1443 and 0.011, respectively). Conclusion: : According to this study, IT specialists and software engineers believe that current software applications are more suitable for education and research than diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, they will categorize software applications according to their efficiency in research and education.

Keywords

• qualitative comparison
• delphi technique
• medical software
• fuzzy analytic hierarchy process