GMAT CLUB OLYMPICS: There are medical imaging software that can analyz

Question

There are medical imaging software that can analyze MRI and CAT scan results to identify abnormal internal structures. However, these software work by comparing the degree of similarity between the image of the patient and an expected image rather than exact identity. After all, there is no exact internal structure. Software systems such as these can be modified to minimize false negatives, that is negative results in patients with an internal disease, but doing so may increase the likelihood of false positives, that is positive results in patients with no internal disease.

Which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the information above?

A. If these software were made to work by exact identification, they would not produce any incorrect results.

B. Doctors choosing a method to analyze MRI and CAT scans for abnormal structures should base the choice solely on the ratio of false positives to false negatives.

C. These software are only appropriate in situations in which a false positive in identifying an abnormal structure is less dangerous than failing to identify an abnormal structure is.

D. Manual analysis of MRI and CAT scans is less likely than software-based analysis to produce a false positive in identifying an abnormal structure.

E. If these software reliably prevent negative results in patients with an internal disease, they may sometimes produce false positive results.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Explanation:

Mind-map:  Medical imaging software analyze abnormal internal structures -> software compares degree of similarity between patients’ image and an expected image -> software does not perform exact identification of disease -> efforts to minimize false negatives may lead to increase in false positives

Missing-link:  Not needed

Expectation from the correct answer choice:  To be duly deducible from the information in the passage, without any assumption or extrapolation

A. It these software work by exact identification between the image of the patient and an expected image, it is  likely that they rarely find an exact match, thus leading to a higher number of false positives or more incorrect results , contrary to what the answer choice mentions. Besides, the  idea of no incorrect results is extremely strong ; one needs to be cautious of such answer choices as they are generally incorrect on the GMAT. Because this answer choice does not indicate a conclusion of the argument, this answer choice is incorrect.

B. The argument mentions the software’s trade-off between false negatives and false positives but  passes no judgment on how the ratio of the false positives and false negatives relates to the accuracy of the machines ; so, this answer choice, suggesting that the ratio be a factor in the selection of machines, is out of scope. Additionally,  “should be” indicates a suggesting/recommending/patronizing tone ; one needs to be cautious of such answer choices as they are generally incorrect on the GMAT. Because this answer choice does not indicate a conclusion of the argument, this answer choice is incorrect.

C. Trap. The argument mentions the software’s trade-off between false negatives and false positives but  passes no judgment on which kind of false signals is more dangerous ; so, this answer choice, suggesting the appropriateness of the software in certain situations associated with false signals, is just a possibility, which, although relevant to the broad context of the argument, is not a conclusion of the argument. Because this answer choice does not indicate a conclusion of the argument, this answer choice is incorrect.

D. The argument  makes no suggestion regarding or comparison with manual analysis ; so, this answer choice, comparing manual analysis and software-based analysis, is just a possibility, which, although relevant to the broad context of the argument, is not a conclusion of the argument. Because this answer choice does not indicate a conclusion of the argument, this answer choice is incorrect.

E. Correct.  The argument mentions that  efforts to minimize false negatives may lead to an increase in false positives ; in other words, if the software reliably prevents negative results in patients with an internal disease, the software may sometimes produce false positives, as the answer choice mentions. Because this answer choice indicates a conclusion of the argument, this answer choice is correct.

E is the best choice.

mSKR · Answer

There are medical imaging software that can analyze MRI and CAT scan results to identify abnormal internal structures. However, these software work by comparing the degree of similarity between the image of the patient and an expected image rather than exact identity. After all, there is no exact internal structure. Software systems such as these  can be modified to minimize false negatives , that is negative results in patients with an internal disease, but doing so may  increase  the likelihood of  false positive s, that is positive results in patients with no internal disease.

Which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the information above?

If false positive is not dangerous

A. If these software were made to work by exact identification, they would  not produce any incorrect results. 
but we are concern about usage of software with false +ves and false -ves

B. Doctors choosing a method to analyze MRI and CAT scans for abnormal structures should base the choice solely on  the ratio of false positives to false negatives. 
it didnt mention ration should be high or low?

C. These software are  only appropriate in situations  in which a false positive in identifying an abnormal structure is less dangerous than failing to identify an abnormal structure is.
false +ve is not dangerous, so this software can be used in such situations.
but we need to find a concliusion , not strengthen the conclusion.
2nd ly: we dont know what other situations it maybe useful

D.  Manual analysis  of MRI and CAT scans is less likely than software-based analysis to produce a false positive in identifying an abnormal structure.
we dont care about manual analysis now.

E. If these software reliably prevent negative results in patients with an internal disease,  they may sometimes produce false positive results.  
If negative results can sometimes be reduces, it may lead to incrase of false psitives
Thats what argument is about.
matches the argument
 Hence E is the correct answer.

swim2109 · Answer

There are medical imaging software that can analyze MRI and CAT scan results to identify abnormal internal structures. However, these software work by comparing the degree of similarity between the image of the patient and an expected image rather than exact identity. After all, there is no exact internal structure. Software systems such as these can be modified to minimize false negatives, that is negative results in patients with an internal disease, but doing so may increase the likelihood of false positives, that is positive results in patients with no internal disease.

Which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by the information above?

A. If these software were made to work by exact identification, they would not produce any incorrect results.-----> We dont know about the exact identification impact. There is no exact identity as mentioned so nothing is mentioned about its usefulness! Eliminate

B. Doctors choosing a method to analyze MRI and CAT scans for abnormal structures should base the choice solely on the ratio of false positives to false negatives.----> Very extreme choice. We cant imply from the passage that doctors need to base SOLELY. Eliminate

C. These software are only appropriate in situations in which a false positive in identifying an abnormal structure is less dangerous than failing to identify an abnormal structure is.----> Again abit extreme. USage of ONLY jumps at me. May be it could be appropriate in situations where they conduct double tests so it might work.

D. Manual analysis of MRI and CAT scans is less likely than software-based analysis to produce a false positive in identifying an abnormal structure.----> Nothing given about manual scan so we dont know. Out of scope.

E. If these software reliably prevent negative results in patients with an internal disease, they may sometimes produce false positive results.-----> This seems reasonable!! Correct

agrasan · Answer

Hi  KarishmaB   MartyMurray   DmitryFarber

E. If these software reliably prevent negative results in patients with an internal disease, they may sometimes produce false positive results.

Could you please explain how (E) is the answer?

My reasoning behind eliminating (E) was that it indirectly repeats the fact given in the last line of argument   "...minimize false negatives...so may increase the likelihood of false positives..."   but we are asked to find an appropriate conclusion and (C) looked better to me.

Is (C) wrong because of the word  "only"  which makes it a strong statement to conclude?

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Hi  agrasan  let me try to help

Responding to your elimination criteria for C. Yes, the reason for eliminating C is correct, it talks about "only" and this we cannot verify.

Now, let's look at why E is correct. The question stem is asking to find conclusions is most strongly supported. Most strongly supported cannot means to find the appropriate one. And E is absolutely fine. E is presented as a conditionals which follows from the last line of the argument where author presents his opinion for the modification of software to minimize the negative false result and while doing so it may increase positive false result. By looking at the overall argument we can conclude that If the modification is done to prevent the negative results then we may sometimes get positive false results. Also by elimination only option E left for us because all other are not verified correctly.

Hope this helps

MartyMurray · Answer

The passage presents this fact:

Software systems such as these can be modified to minimize false negatives, ... but doing so may increase the likelihood of false positives

Notice that the fact presented by the passage is that there may be, in general, a tradeoff: minimizing the incidence of false negatives may increase the likelihood of false positives.

Now, here's (E):

E. If these software reliably prevent negative results in patients with an internal disease, they may sometimes produce false positive results.

In contrast to what the passage says, (E) is about a specific case, rather than a general pattern. (E) indicates that, in a specific case in which the software "reliably prevents" negative results, the software may produce false positives.

Considering the two statements, we can see that the second follows from the first. After all, if, in general, modifying the software to minimize the incidence of false negatives may increase the likelihood of false positives, then it follows that, in a case in which the software has been modified sufficiently to reliably prevent false negatives, it may produce false positives.

egmat · Answer

Hi agrasan,

Great question — and your instinct about C is exactly right, but let me sharpen both points for you.

First, why E works:  You said E 'indirectly repeats' the last line, and you dismissed it because you felt a conclusion should go beyond the facts. But here's the  key  — on  'Most Strongly Supported'  questions, the best answer is the one that follows most safely from the passage. It doesn't need to be a bold new insight. E takes the passage's statement ('minimizing false negatives may increase false positives') and rewords it slightly: 'if the software reliably prevents negative results in diseased patients (= minimizes false negatives), it may sometimes produce false positives.' That's not a copy-paste — it's a  valid inference restated in slightly different terms . And that's exactly what makes it the safest, most supported conclusion.

Now, why C fails  — and yes, you nailed the core issue. The word  'only'  is the killer. C says the software is 'only appropriate' when false positives are less dangerous than false negatives. But the passage never tells us when the software is or isn't appropriate to use. It simply describes a technical trade-off. C makes a  prescriptive judgment  ('you should only use this when...') that goes way beyond what the passage supports. Even if C sounds reasonable in real life,  nothing  in the stimulus restricts the software's use to just that one scenario.

Key Takeaway:  On  'Most Strongly Supported'  questions, the answer that stays closest to the passage — even if it feels like a near-restatement — is almost always safer than one that makes a bold new claim.  Beware of answers with extreme words like 'only' or 'solely' that go beyond the passage's scope.

Answer: E

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GMAT CLUB OLYMPICS: There are medical imaging software that can analyz

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