Algorithm Combination for Improved Performance in Biosurveillance: Univariate Monitoring

This chapter proposes an enhancement to currently used algorithms for monitoring daily counts of pre-diagnostic data. Rather than use a single algorithm or apply multiple algorithms simultaneously, our approach is based on ensembles of algorithms. The ensembles lead to better performance in terms of higher true alert rates for a given false alert rate. Combinations can be employed at the data preprocessing step and/or at the monitoring step. We discuss the advantages of such an approach and illustrate its usefulness using authentic modern biosurveillance data.