🔁 What Is a Fractal?
A fractal is a pattern that repeats at every level. Consider the trunk of a tree with branches and then leaves. Then look at a single leaf. Can you visualize the stem of the leaf representing the trunk of the tree. That’s a fractal design the same general patern repeats. The trunk of the tree is represented at the smaller level by the stem of the leaf. A Fractal Design.
You’ll find them in
Snowflakes. No two are identical even though each is a repeat of individual units of exactly the same design.
Ferns and trees
River networks
Blood vessels
DNA
The brain’s neural circuits
Whether you zoom in or zoom out, the structure stays the same. That’s what makes it powerful — and adaptable.
FENTON’S WAY uses this same principle.
🧭 How the Four Questions Are Fractal
FENTON’S WAY is built around Four Mission Essential Tasks (METs) — the Four Questions of care:
Who are you — and who are you becoming?
Why now?
Do we know what we’re doing?
Where are we going, when are we leaving, and who cares?
These same four questions can be asked:
For a single patient
For one ISSUE
For a whole care team
For a clinic, hospital, or even a national system
The pattern repeats, and adapts — just like a fractal.
🌱 Why Use a Fractal Model?
Fractal systems offer huge advantages in medicine:
✅ Clarity — Everyone sees the same structure
✅ Scalability — Works from patient to system
✅ Stability — Adjusts without losing core logic
✅ Reusability — Same questions, every time
✅ Efficiency — You’re not reinventing the wheel
It turns complexity into coherence.
🤖 Why We Built a Fractal Neural Network
FENTON’S COLLEAGUE is designed as a Fractal Neural Network (FNN):
It mirrors how clinicians think
It structures ISSUES and care plans using the same fractal logic
It can scale from a bedside to a hospital system
It integrates data in real time — while preserving human judgment
In short, it gives every patient and care team the same map — structured, sharable, and scalable.