Kulldorf’s spatial scan statistic can be used with many types of disease data,
both counts for areas and data about individual health events. One common
use of the spatial scan statistic is with data for individual cases (in red) and
disease-free controls (in black).
The spatial scan statistic
works by examining data
within circles of different
sizes drawn around cases.
The smallest circle has a
radius slightly greater
than zero; the largest
includes at most 50% of
the total population in the
study area.
Taking this case as an example: