Table 3.

CEA model adopted for the comparative analysis of FNABs with and without cyto-assistance

Definition of the CEA model
Reference case	Patient of age between 10 and 98 years old with a first US diagnosis of thyroid nodule
Strategies	Using cyto-assistance vs using FNABs without cyto-assistance. In both cases, non-diagnostic results TIR1 must be repeated until a final diagnosis is obtained
Time horizon	1 year
Perspective	Healthcare system perspective
Effective measure	Number of procedures to achieve a correct diagnosis
CEA model	Decision tree