Recursive Bayesian estimation of effective defibrillation shock intensities

A recursive method for computing optimum Bayesian estimates of effective defibrillation doses is presented. The method produces the same results as previously reported Bayesian techniques with a significant savings in computational complexity. The value of shock intensity required to return the most information about the value of ED50 is provided sequentially at each iterative step. The results show that the up-down algorithm provides significantly more information than the step-up or step-down algorithms. ED50 estimates are refined optimally at each step providing an optimal variable length procedure.