Modifying Survival Models To Accommodate Thresholding Behavior

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified survival model that better captures thresholding behavior in hazard accumulation, especially useful when external physical constraints limit hazard model flexibility, demonstrated through a physiological case study.

Contribution

It presents a generalized survival modeling approach that incorporates thresholding behavior, extending traditional models constrained by external physical processes.

Findings

Enhanced modeling of threshold effects in survival analysis

Application to physiological data shows improved fit

Demonstrates utility in real-world scenarios

Abstract

Survival models capture the relationship between an accumulating hazard and the occurrence of a singular event stimulated by that accumulation. When the model for the hazard is sufficiently flexible survival models can accommodate a wide range of behaviors. If the hazard model is less flexible, for example when it is constrained by an external physical process, then the resulting survival model can be much too rigid. In this paper I introduce a modified survival model that generalizes the relationship between accumulating hazard and event occurrence with particular emphasis on capturing thresholding behavior. Finally I demonstrate the utility of this approach on a physiological application.