Case definitions are essential for effectively communicating public health threats. However, the absence of a standardized, machine-readable format poses significant challenges to interoperability, epidemiological research, the exchange of qualitative data, and the effective application of computational analysis methods, including artificial intelligence (AI). This complicates comparisons and collaborations across organizations and regions, limits data integration, and hinders technological innovation in public health. To address these issues, we propose the first open, machine-readable format for representing case and syndrome definitions. Additionally, we introduce the first comprehensive dataset of standardized case definitions and tools to convert existing human-readable definitions into machine-readable formats. We also provide an accessible online platform for browsing, analyzing, and contributing new definitions, available at https://opensyndrome.org. The Open Syndrome Definition format enables consistent, scalable use of case definitions across systems, unlocking AI's potential to strengthen public health preparedness and response. The source code for the format can be found at https://github.com/OpenSyndrome/schema under the MIT license.

翻译：病例定义对于有效传达公共卫生威胁至关重要。然而，由于缺乏标准化的、机器可读的格式，在互操作性、流行病学研究、定性数据交换以及包括人工智能（AI）在内的计算分析方法的有效应用方面带来了重大挑战。这使得跨组织和跨区域的比较与合作变得复杂，限制了数据整合，并阻碍了公共卫生领域的技术创新。为解决这些问题，我们提出了首个用于表示病例和综合征定义的开放、机器可读格式。此外，我们引入了首个标准病例定义的全面数据集，以及将现有人类可读定义转换为机器可读格式的工具。我们还提供了一个易于访问的在线平台，用于浏览、分析并贡献新的定义，该平台可在 https://opensyndrome.org 访问。开放综合征定义格式实现了病例定义在系统间的一致、可扩展使用，从而释放了人工智能在加强公共卫生准备和响应方面的潜力。该格式的源代码可在 MIT 许可证下于 https://github.com/OpenSyndrome/schema 找到。