Interpretable and Calibrated Classification of Clinical Data Using Supervised Feature Binarization

Abstract

Black-box models limit the adoption of artificial intelligence in medicine because their predictions are difficult to interpret and reproduce. We present a statistically grounded framework for interpretable, rule-based clinical classification using the Bernoulli Naïve Bayes (BNB) model. Supervised chi-square-guided binarization converts continuous variables into binary indicators by selecting thresholds that maximize association with the clinical outcome within the training folds, which allows BNB to operate on continuous medical data without sacrificing transparency. On three benchmark datasets, Pima Indians Diabetes, Wisconsin Breast Cancer, and Heart Failure Prediction, the framework reached areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.794, 0.984, and 0.918, respectively. Probabilistic reliability was assessed with a leakage-safe cross-validated calibration analysis reporting Brier score and calibration intercept and slope, and post hoc beta calibration improved probability calibration across datasets. These results indicate that an interpretable, statistically motivated framework can perform comparably to more complex models while providing explicit decision rules expressed in clinical units and risk estimates that are reliable after calibration. A complete worked example further shows that model inference can be reproduced from a printed reference table using only basic arithmetic, without software or proprietary tools, a property that may support auditable use of artificial intelligence in clinical settings.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Bioengineering, 2026 · DOI ↗