erstanding algorithms is more important to the clinical engineering professional than understanding code because it is algorithms that face the professional in everyday life. Sometimes referred to as functional specifications, or design documents, algorithms are used to explain to departments and divisions what programmers are intending to work on in order to complete a specific task. Without being able to understand the algorithm design, the clinical engineering professional is left at a severe disadvantage in determining whether or not a proposed algorithm will, in fact, meet the needs of the department or organization. It is critical, therefore, that the basic elements of common algorithm designs be understood and appreciated by the professional in order to evaluate proposed projects, their costs, and their effect on the organization.
There are five common types of algorithms that are used today: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomized algorithms and backtracking algorithms.
Greedy algorithms derive their name from the way they are used to approach problems. These algorithms work in phases. At each phase, a decision is made that appears to be good; this decision is made without regard for its effect on future events. In this way, a "local" (immediate) optimum solution is chosen. The theory behind this algorithm is that a collection of locally optimized decisions will lead to a globally optimized decision. If this is not the case, the algorithm produces a suboptimized decision. Although suboptimized decisions are not always the exact answer that the researcher is seeking, they are sometimes used regardless because they can arrive at approximate answers and are simpler than the algorithms that would be required to arrive at a more exact answer.
Greedy algorithms are often found in the real world. For example, if the goal when making change is to give back the least amount of coin and currency, ...