MoSearch: a radiologist-friendly tool for finding-based diagnostic report and image retrieval

The diagnostic reports generated in a radiology department contain a wealth of information. Although radiology information systems can greatly facilitate patient-based access to this information, they typically provide only limited finding-based access. A user-friendly personal computer-based software package that allows radiologists to conduct sophisticated real-time searches of diagnostic reports on the basis of patient characteristics, modality used, anatomy examined, and imaging findings and to easily review, refine, and output the results was designed and implemented in a large academic hospital. A notable feature of this system is the use of synonym-matching and syntactic cues, which allow it to identify findings within the text of a diagnostic report much more accurately than a simple keyword search can. This type of system is easily and inexpensively implemented and is a valuable tool in the support of various research and teaching applications in a radiology department.