sensitivitets

Sensitivitets is a term used in Scandinavian languages to describe the capacity to perceive, detect, or respond to stimuli, either in biological systems, instruments, or models. In broad usage it denotes responsiveness or the degree to which a system reacts to a given input. The concept spans several fields, including medicine, statistics, engineering, and psychology, and it is often defined in relation to thresholds, noise, and measurement accuracy.

In medical diagnostics, sensitivitets (often translated as sensitivity) refers to the proportion of true positives among individuals who truly have the condition. It measures a test’s ability to detect disease and is typically balanced against specificity. High sensitivitets reduces false negatives, but can increase false positives if the threshold is set too low. Factors affecting sensitivitets include disease stage, specimen quality, and assay design.

In statistics and modelling, sensitivity analysis evaluates how uncertainty in model inputs influences output. Local sensitivity analyzes the effect of small changes in inputs, typically via derivatives. Global sensitivity examines variation across broader input ranges using methods such as Sobol indices or the Morris method. The aim is to identify influential factors, prioritize data collection, and understand model robustness.

In engineering and sensor technology, sensitivitets describes how strongly a device’s output responds to changes in input, such as light, temperature, or mechanical force. This includes calibration, linearity, dynamic range, and noise considerations. In psychology and physiology, sensory sensitivity refers to the acuity of perception or to heightened responsiveness to stimuli, often linked to thresholds, adaptation, and individual differences.