[Automated diagnosis--new possibilities through user-specific software]

After four years of development and testing, we have devised a software system especially adapted to the recording, storage and monitoring of radiological findings. After full implementation of this system, sufficient practical experience has been collected for effecting a comprehensive assessment. The qualitative and quantitative aspects of a discipline-specific software are described in detail and can be used for comparison with other EDP systems. The two essential criteria for the practicability and acceptance of a system for automatized collection and recording of findings are a short interaction time at the input terminal and a high degree of logical and reference flexibility enabling individual formulation and patient-related specificity of the textual formulation of findings comparable with conventional sound dictation. By means of interlinking of information with other processing programmes it becomes possible to continue data processing for each case in both administrative and research aspects after a single input operation of patient and examination data.