Re:Half of women will get a false positive 3D mammogram, stu...
by thaumasiotes on Friday March 25, 2022 @01:29PM
(#30804944)
> So why isn't this ratio part of the major test criteria?
Because it has nothing to do with the test. Sensitivity and specificity are facts about the test, and conceptually they will remain whatever they are if you start testing a different population.
Whether doing a test has any value is a fact about the population ("olympic athletes are never anemic, so there's no point in testing them for anemia") that has nothing to do with the test. Why would you evaluate the test based on that?
Because it has nothing to do with the test. Sensitivity and specificity are facts about the test, and conceptually they will remain whatever they are if you start testing a different population.
Whether doing a test has any value is a fact about the population ("olympic athletes are never anemic, so there's no point in testing them for anemia") that has nothing to do with the test. Why would you evaluate the test based on that?